Study of fullerene C₆₀ effect on Escherichia coli in presence of antibiotics

The growing concern over antibiotic resistance necessitates novel strategies to enhance antimicrobial efficacy. This study investigates the synergistic effect of fullerene C₆₀ on antibiotic susceptibility in Escherichia coli. In a standardized modification of the disc diffusion method, the zones of inhibition were measured on Mueller-Hinton agar with and without supplementation of fullerene C₆₀ after incubation for 10 and 24 h, respectively. Fullerene C₆₀ was noted for strengthening the antibacterial action of several antibiotics, especially to the extent of conversion of the bacteriostatic effect to bactericidal over a period. A statistically significant enhancement in the diameter of zones of inhibition was observed with tetracycline and co-trimoxazole, whereas amikacin and gentamicin evidenced only slight increases. The findings indicate that fullerene C₆₀ could disrupt bacterial membrane integrity or metabolic activity, thereby potentiating the antibiotics. This paves the way for introducing nanomaterials like fullerene C₆₀ into treatment strategies to target antibiotic resistance and bring about better therapeutic outcomes in bacterial infections.