article · Notulae Scientia Biologicae
Cell-free extracts from six Enterococcus bacterial strains isolated from fermented foods can successfully synthesise silver nanoparticles. These biogenic nanoparticles are spherical, crystalline, and range in size from 4 to 55 nanometres, with bacterial proteins facilitating their formation. In laboratory evaluations, the nanoparticles effectively suppressed the growth of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus vulgaris. When combined with conventional antibiotics such as ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and cefuroxime, the nanoparticles enhanced the antibacterial potency of the drugs. Furthermore, integrating the silver nanoparticles into paint formulations inhibited common bacterial and fungal contaminants, including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus flavus. This demonstrates the versatility of biologically produced silver nanoparticles across both therapeutic and material preservation settings.
The rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens presents severe challenges for healthcare and industrial hygiene. Producing silver nanoparticles using food-grade bacterial extracts offers an environmentally friendly alternative to harsh chemical manufacturing. These particles demonstrate strong potential to restore the efficacy of compromised antibiotics and act as protective additives in surface coatings, helping to counter contamination risks in both clinical and domestic environments.
The findings indicate applications in antimicrobial drug enhancement and protective industrial coatings. Paint manufacturers could utilise the particles as additives to prevent microbial spoilage, while pharmaceutical developers could explore combinations with existing antibiotics. Because evaluations were restricted to laboratory assays and paint admixtures, the technology remains at an applied research stage, requiring formulation optimisation, safety evaluations, and field stability testing before commercial use.
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Cell-free extracts of six strains of Enterococcus species obtained from fermented foods were used for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which was characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The biosynthesized AgNPs were dark brown in colour having surface plasmon resonance in the range of 420-442 nm. The spherical shaped AgNPs had sizes of 4-55 nm, whose formations were facilitated by proteins as indicated by the presence of peaks 1,635-1,637 and 3,275-3,313 cm-1 in the FTIR spectra. The energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) showed prominent presence of silver in the AgNPs colloidal solution, while the selected area electron diffraction was typified by the face-centred crystalline nature of silver. The particles inhibited the growth of multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris, and also potentiated the activities of ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and cefuroxime in the AgNPs-antibiotic synergy studies. In addition, the prospective relevance of the particles as nanopreservative in paints was demonstrated with the inhibition of growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger and A. flavus in AgNPs-paint admixture. This report further demonstrates the green synthesis of AgNPs by strains of Enterococcus species.
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DOI: 10.15835/nsb929938
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