Antibacterial effects of microbial synthesized silver-copper nanoalloys on Escherichia coli, Burkholderia cepacia, Listeria monocytogenes and Brucella abortus

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Bacterial resistance is an emerging public health problem worldwide. Metallic nanoparticles and nanoalloys open a promising field due to their excellent antimicrobial effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial effects of Ag-Cu nanoalloys, which were biosynthesized by Lactobacillus casei ATCC 39392, on some of the important bacterial pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Burkholderia cepacia, Listeria monocytogenes and Brucella abortus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ag-Cu nanoalloys were synthesized through the microbial reduction of AgNO(3) and CuSO(4) by Lactobacillus casei ATCC39392. Furthermore, they were characterized by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis in order to investigate their chemical composition and morphological features, respectively. The minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations of Ag-Cu nanoalloys were determined against each strain. The bactericidal test was conducted on the surface of MHA supplemented with 1, 0.1, and 0.01 μg/μL of the synthesized nanoalloy. The antimicrobial effects of synthesized nanoalloy were compared with ciprofloxacin, ampicillin and ceftazidime as positive controls. RESULTS: Presence of different chemical functional groups, including N-H, C-H, C-N and C-O on the surface of Ag-Cu nanoalloys was recorded by FTIR. FESEM micrographs revealed uniformly distributed nanoparticles with spherical shape and size ranging from 50 to 100 nm. The synthesized Ag-Cu nanoalloys showed antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes PTCC 1298, E. coli ATCC 25922 and B. abortus vaccine strain. However, no antibacterial effects were observed against B. cepacia ATCC 25416. CONCLUSION: According to the findings of the present research, the microbially synthesized Ag-Cu nanoalloy demonstrated antibacterial effects on the majority of the bacteria studied even at 0.01 μg/μL. However, complementary investigations should be conducted into the safety of this nanoalloy for in vivo or systemic use.