Size-dependent antibacterial activities of silver nanoparticles against oral anaerobic pathogenic bacteria

Dental caries and periodontal disease are widespread diseases for which microorganism infections have been identified as the main etiology. Silver nanoparticles (Ag Nps) were considered as potential control oral bacteria infection agent due to its excellent antimicrobial activity and non acute toxic effects on human cells. In this work, stable Ag Nps with different sizes (~5, 15 and 55 nm mean values) were synthesized by using a simple reduction method or hydrothermal method. The Nps were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The antibacterial activities were evaluated by colony counting assay and growth inhibition curve method, and corresponding minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against five anaerobic oral pathogenic bacteria and aerobic bacteria E. coli were determined. The results showed that Ag Nps had apparent antibacterial effects against the anaerobic oral pathogenic bacteria and aerobic bacteria. The MIC values of 5-nm Ag against anaerobic oral pathogenic bacteria A. actinomycetemcomitans, F. nuceatum, S. mitis, S. mutans and S. sanguis were 25, 25, 25, 50 and 50 μg/mL, respectively. The aerobic bacteria were more susceptible to Ag NPs than the anaerobic oral pathogenic bacteria. In the mean time, Ag NPs displayed an obvious size-dependent antibacterial activity against the anaerobic bacteria. The 5-nm Ag presents the highest antibacterial activity. The results of this work indicated a potential application of Ag Nps in the inhibition of oral microorganism infections.