Graphene Decorated Zinc Oxide and Curcumin to Disinfect the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Sometimes, life-threatening infections are initiated by the biofilm formation facilitated at the infection site by the drug-resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. The aggregation of the same type of bacteria leads to biofilm formation on the delicate tissue, dental plaque, and skin. In the present investigation, a Graphene (Gr)-based nano-formulation containing Curcumin (C.C.M.) and Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) showed a wide range of anti-microbial activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilm and demonstrated the anti-microbial mechanism of action. The anti-microbial effect of GrZnO nanocomposites, i.e., GrZnO-NCs, suggests that the integrated graphene-based nanocomposites effectively suppressed both sensitive as well as MRSA ATCC 43300 and BAA-1708 isolates. The S. aureus inhibitory effect of GrZnO-NCs improved >5-fold when combined with C.C.M., and demonstrated a M.I.C. of 31.25 µg/mL contrasting with the GrZnO-NCs or C.C.M. alone having M.I.C. value of 125 µg/mL each. The combination treatment of GrZnO-NCs or C.C.M. inhibited the M.R.S.A. topical dermatitis infection in a mice model with a significant decrease in the CFU count to ~64%. Interestingly, the combination of C.C.M. and GrZnO-NCs damaged the bacterial cell wall structure, resulting in cytoplasm spillage, thereby diminishing their metabolism. Thus, owing to the ease of synthesis and highly efficient anti-microbial properties, the present graphene-based curcumin nano-formulations can cater to a new treatment methodology against M.R.S.A.