Efflux pump inhibitory activity of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles against multidrug-resistant...

This study was carried out to investigate the possible efflux pump inhibitory activity of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. In this study, the physicochemical characteristics of synthesized AgNPs were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) methods. Subsequently, MDR A. baumannii isolates were recovered from clinical samples and the phenotypic cartwheel efflux assay and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to elucidate the possible presence of efflux pump in MDR strains. After treatment of MDR strains with sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) concentration of AgNPs, the expression level of efflux pump genes was evaluated using a quantitative real-time PCR technique. The synthesized AgNPs had a spherical nanostructure, with mean size 38.89 nm, according to SEM and TEM data. XRD and FTIR results confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs. The results of PCR revealed that among 50 strains, 12 A. baumannii strains had efflux pump genes and the expression level of AdeA, AdeC, AdeS, AdeR, AdeI, AdeJ, and AdeK efflux pump genes was downregulated significantly after the treatment with AgNPs. In addition, the inhibitory effect of AgNPs on efflux pumps can be detected when the MIC of ethidium bromide (EtBr) with AgNPs is lower than that of EtBr alone. According to the results, the biologically synthesized AgNPs exhibit efflux pumps inhibitory activity, which may be one of the possible mechanisms of their antibacterial activity against MDR A. baumannii strains.