Anti-Bacterial Gel Based on Silver Nanoparticles Offers New Insights in Drug Synthesis for Treating Infectious Diseases

Synthesis of new types of drugs that can fight pathogenic bacteria has been a significant task in biomedicine. In the past century, antibiotics have been the major antibacterial agent, but their improper and unsystematic use has led to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria.

Because of this, scientists and doctors try to lessen the use of antibiotics to avoid the ability of bacteria to resist the drug. There is a need to create new methods for developing antibacterial preparations and approaches towards sustainable management.

Potential of Silver as Antibacterial Agent

A promising element that can be utilized in the fight against pathogens is silver, a metal known to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. The most famous uses of silver as an antibacterial agent are in the prophylactic treatment of burns and water disinfection.

Silver is known to be biologically active in its monoatomic ionic state (Ag+) and is soluble in aqueous environments. This same form appears in ionic silver compounds like silver nitrate and silver sulfadiazine, which treat wounds.

There are three known mechanisms by which silver fights microorganisms. First, silver cations form pores in bacterial cell walls and puncture them by reacting with peptidoglycan. The ions enter the bacterial cell and generate reactive oxygen species. Lastly, silver disrupts DNA and its replication cycle once inside the cell.

Developing Silver Nanoparticle-Based Gel

Silver nanoparticles are effective in various applications, such as implants, dressings, and catheters. However, obtaining such nanoparticles requires scientists to use expensive and toxic materials, which can sometimes leave traces in the drug structure, harming human health.

At Tver State University, scientists synthesized silver nanoparticles using an eco-friendly technology that does not require toxic substances. The hazardous chemicals were replaced with sulfur amino acids, naturally occurring in the human body. A gel with a retained structure is created as the amino acid molecules reduce silver from its salts.

These properties allow easier creation of gels with silver nanoparticles by mixing amino acid solutions and silver salts. This process stops the use of toxic chemicals without requiring any specific conditions.

The antibacterial properties of the new gel were tested on the colonies of ESKAPE bacteria. ESKAPE refers to a group of microorganisms such as Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, and Enterococcus, known to be antibiotic-resistant. The analysis has revealed that the newly developed gel is a hundred times more effective than well-known silver-based drugs in inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and preventing the formation of biofilms.

This technology can be easily scaled up since it is simple, non-toxic, and cheap. The research team boasts of its applicability in synthesizing drugs for treating various diseases, such as acute, chronic, and hospital-acquired bacterial infections. The researchers plan to test the gels on laboratory animals to determine their safety and effectiveness.