Ultrastructural changes in methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusinduced by positively charged silver nanoparticles

• DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.6.246
• Publication Date: 2015-12-16T09:25:53Z
• Authors: Dulce G Romero-Ur...; Humberto H Lara; J Jesús Velázquez...; M Josefina Arella...; Eduardo Larios; Anand Srinivasan; Jose L Lopez-Ribot; Miguel José Yacamán
• Keywords: Silver nanoparticle; Teichoic acid

Silver nanoparticles offer a possible means of fighting antibacterial resistance. Most their properties are attributed to silver ions. In the present work, we study actions positively charged against both methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant . We use aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy examine bactericidal effects ultrastructural changes in bacteria that induced by nanoparticles. The revealed our 1 nm average size thinning permeabilization cell wall, destabilization peptidoglycan layer, subsequent leakage intracellular content, causing bacterial lysis. hypothesize bind negatively polyanionic backbones teichoic acids related wall glycopolymers as first target, consequently stressing structure permeability wall. This hypothesis provides major mechanism explain on aureus. Future research should focus defining molecular mechanisms importance antimicrobial activity