Hani A. Alhadrami1, 2,,
Musab Aldhahri3,
M. Sh. Abdel-Aahab3,
Mohammad A. Hussain4,
G.H. Sewify5,
Aftab Ahmad6,
Mohammed Zourob7,
Esam I. Azhar1, 2 1Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80402 Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
2Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80402 Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
3Center of Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
4Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
5Deanship of Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80230 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
6Health Information Technology Department, Jeddah Community College, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 0283, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
7Department of Chemistry, Alfaisal University, Al Zahrawi Street, Al Maather, AlTakhassusi Rd, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia
American Journal of Nanomaterials.
2017,
Vol. 5 No. 1, 24-30
DOI: 10.12691/ajn-5-1-4
Copyright © 2017 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: Hani A. Alhadrami, Musab Aldhahri, M. Sh. Abdel-Aahab, Mohammad A. Hussain, G.H. Sewify, Aftab Ahmad, Mohammed Zourob, Esam I. Azhar. Nanofiber Scaffold Coated with Ag and ZnO Nanoparticles for Treatment of Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus.
American Journal of Nanomaterials. 2017; 5(1):24-30. doi: 10.12691/ajn-5-1-4.
Correspondence to: Hani A. Alhadrami, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80402 Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Email:
hanialhadrami@kau.edu.saAbstract
Silver (Ag) nanoparticles are well established for its antibacterial activity. In this study, we demonstrate the antibacterial activity of the electrospun nanofiber mats coated with various ratios of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles and relate it with the hydrophilicity of the membrane imparted due to Ag nanoparticles. Electrospun nanofibers were prepared from a 1:1 blend of two polymers: PCL and PMMA that was sputter coated with inorganic nanoparticles (Ag and ZnO) at three ratios thus adding another layer of nanocomposition to the resulting polymer nanocompoite nanofiber scaffold. The antibacterial activity of scaffolds coated with different ratios of Ag and ZnO was tested against MRSA ATCC®. The viable bacteria were monitored by counting the number of colony forming units (CFUs/ml). The PF-QNM characterization results showed different shapes, sizes and DMT modulus of the inorganic nanoparticles (Ag and ZnO), appearing at the surface of the nanofibers. Ag and ZnO nanoparticles were observed heterogeneously distributed on the nanofiber mesh and varied at different locations along the nanofibers lengths based on their ratios used in sputtering. Increasing ZnO content increased both the hardness and water contact angle (almost double as compared to Ag for the same increase in content) of the nanofiber mesh. The results revealed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the number of CFUs/ml after only 15 min of exposure to the scaffolds coated with Ag:ZnO (1:1) and Ag:ZnO (3:1) respectively. Nevertheless, scaffold coated with Ag:ZnO (1:3) required longer time (30 min) to show reduction in the number of CFUs/ml. There was a significant difference between the number of CFUs/ml after 0 min exposure to scaffolds coated with different ratios of Ag and ZnO and the number of CFUs/ml after 30 min exposure. Taken together these results, superior antibacterial activity for scaffolds coated with different ratios of Ag and ZnO against pathogenic bacteria MRSA was reported, which demonstrates potential applications of these scaffolds in medical and biomedical fields.
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