Silver nanoparticles: an ecological method of synthesis, properties and use against antibiotic resistant microflora

A quantitative assessment of the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles on polyantibiotic-resistant grampositive and gram-negative microorganisms was carried out. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by the environmentally friendly metal-steam synthesis method. The size and electronic state of nanoparticles were investigated by transmission electron and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The antibacterial properties of nanomaterials were assessed on two clinical pathogenic strains of gram-positive and four strains of gram-negative microorganisms. The typing and assessment of bacterial resistance to antibiotics were carried out on a microbiological analyzer. The antibacterial effect of nanoparticles was quantitatively assessed using the dilution method and the determination of the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations.
It was found that the studied silver nanoparticles have sizes in the range from 5 to 24 nm with an average diameter of 10.8 nm. It was shown that all clinical strains of microorganisms used in the study are characterized by multiple antibacterial resistance; the percentage of their antibiotic resistance ranges from 12.5 to 93.3 %. It was found that for the studied microorganism, the values of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) are in the range from 7.81 to 31.25 μg/ml, and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) is in the range from 31.25 to 62.50 μg/ml.
The obtained MIC and MBC data can be used to create promising antimicrobial drugs and medical next generation devices.

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