Vancomycin-modified Fe3O4@SiO2@Ag microflowers as effective antimicrobial agents

Abstract

Chongwen Wang,1,2,* Kehan Zhang,2,* Zhe Zhou,2,* Qingjun Li,2 Liting Shao,2 Rong Zhang Hao,3 Rui Xiao,2 Shengqi Wang1,2 1College of Life Sciences & Bio-Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 2Beijing Key Laboratory of New Molecular Diagnosis Technologies for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, 3Institute for Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Nanomaterials combined with antibiotics exhibit synergistic effects and have gained increasing interest as promising antimicrobial agents. In this study, vancomycin-modified magnetic-based silver microflowers (Van/Fe3O4@SiO2@Ag microflowers) were rationally designed and prepared to achieve strong bactericidal ability, a wide antimicrobial spectrum, and good recyclability. High-performance Fe3O4@SiO2@Ag microflowers served as a multifunction-supporting matrix and exhibited sufficient magnetic response property due to their 200 nm Fe3O4 core. The microflowers also possessed a highly branched flower-like Ag shell that provided a large surface area for effective Ag ion release and bacterial contact. The modified-vancomycin layer was effectively bound to the cell wall of bacteria to increase the permeability of the cell membrane and facilitate the entry of the Ag ions into the bacterium, resulting in cell death. As such, the fabricated Van/Fe3O4@SiO2@Ag microflowers were predicted to be an effective and environment-friendly antibacterial agent. This hypothesis was verified through sterilization of Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 10 and 20 µg mL-1, respectively. The microflowers also showed enhanced effect compared with bare Fe3O4@SiO2@Ag microflowers and free-form vancomycin, confirming the synergistic effects of the combination of the two components. Moreover, the antimicrobial effect was maintained at more than 90% after five cycling assays, indicating the high stability of the product. These findings reveal that Van/Fe3O4@SiO2@Ag microflowers exhibit promising applications in the antibacterial fields. Keywords: antibiotic-resistant bacteria, surface area, biological properties, magnetic composites, Ag shell

Keywords

• Magnetic-based silver microflowers Vancomycin modification Antibacterial agents Synergistic antibacterial effect Drug-resistant bacteria