Functionalization of ampicillin and gentamicin with biogenic copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) remodel antimicrobial and cytotoxic outcome against MDR clinical isolates

• DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03425-y
• Publication Date: 2023-02-13T20:08:47Z
• Authors: Fatima Saleem; Naila Safdar; Iram Fatima; Azra Yasmin; Wajid Hussain
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; Anti-Infective Agents; Plant Extracts; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Metal Nanoparticles; Ampicillin; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Gentamicins; Copper; 3. Good health; Anti-Bacterial Agents

The present study reports the functionalization of antibiotic-conjugated Alternanthera pungens and Trichodesma indicum copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). Initially, antibiotic profiling of multi-drug resistant (MDR) clinical isolates against five antibiotics was verified and then gentamicin and ampicillin conjugates of CuNPs were prepared. Biosynthesized nanostructures were characterized through UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. Biogenic synthesized CuNPs displayed highest antibacterial activity (24.0-31.3 mm inhibition zones) when capped with gentamicin as compared to the ampicillin-conjugated NPs which showed resistance against most of the bacterial species. A. pungens-derived conjugates of gentamicin (CuAp-GNT) along with the vehicle revealed 4.86 ± 0.20% and 4.25 ± 2.96% hemolytic potential and highest MDA production in S. typhimurium (3.18 ± 1.52 µg/mL and 6.31 ± 3.49 µg/mL) and K. pneumoniae (2.99 ± 0.90 µg/mL and 4.06 ± 1.20 µg/mL). Similarly, CuAp-GNT also showed highest DNA protection ability by displaying 1342.99 ± 11.87 band intensity. All-inclusive, CuAp showed more promising effects when conjugated with gentamicin indicating that capping of gentamicin with the active components of the plant-based copper nanostructures increases the antibacterial capacity of the drug. Hence, conjugation of antibiotics with bio-based sources offers great potential for identifying potent drug leads.