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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1507274

Novel Silver Nanoparticle-Based Biomaterials for Combating Klebsiella pneumoniae Biofilms

Provisionally accepted
Eslam Elashkar Eslam Elashkar 1Rihaf Alfaraj Rihaf Alfaraj 2Ola M El-Borady Ola M El-Borady 3Mahmoud M Amer Mahmoud M Amer 1Abdelazeem Algammal Abdelazeem Algammal 4Azza SalahEldin El-Demerdash Azza SalahEldin El-Demerdash 5*
  • 1 Benha University, Benha, Qalyubia, Egypt
  • 2 King Saud University, Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 Nano Science and Technology Institute, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr Elsheikh, Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt
  • 4 Suez Canal University, Ismaïlia, Ismailia, Egypt
  • 5 Animal Health Research Institute (Egypt), Giza, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Klebsiella pneumoniae, a significant pathogen, poses a serious threat due to its biofilm formation and multidrug resistance. This study investigated the antibiofilm potential of novel silver nanoparticles encapsulated in chitosan and further enhanced with sodium fluoride (AgNPs@chitosan-NaF). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed alarmingly high resistance rates among K. pneumoniae isolates, with 87% classified as extreme drug-resistant and 13% as pan-resistant. AgNPs@chitosan-NaF demonstrated superior efficacy in disrupting K. pneumoniae biofilms compared to AgNPs@chitosan, reducing biofilm biomass with MICs ranging from 0.125 to 1 μg/mL. Mechanistic studies revealed that AgNPs@chitosan-NaF effectively downregulated key biofilm-associated genes, including treC, fimA, mrkA, and ecpA. While AgNPs@chitosan-NaF exhibited a concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect on both normal and cancer cell lines, minimal cytotoxicity was observed at concentrations below 31.25 µg/mL, suggesting a potential therapeutic window. These findings highlight the promising potential of AgNPs@chitosan-NaF as a therapeutic strategy to combat Klebsiella pneumoniae infections, emphasizing the synergistic effect of silver nanoparticles, chitosan, and sodium fluoride in combating biofilm formation.

    Keywords: Antibiofilm Potential, Chitosan, Cytotoxicity, Klebsiella pneumoniae, silver nanoparticles, Sodium Fluoride

    Received: 08 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Elashkar, Alfaraj, El-Borady, Amer, Algammal and El-Demerdash. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Azza SalahEldin El-Demerdash, Animal Health Research Institute (Egypt), Giza, Egypt

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.