A. Marra, C. Mejias, C. Ramos, J. Villalobos, F. Mendoza, G. Morell, J. Avalos, B. Weiner
University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus,
United States
Keywords: siderophore, Ag-GQD, E. coli
Summary:
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common infectious diseases in humans as well as nosocomial infections in the developed world. In this work, conjugated Deferoxamine Mesylate siderophores with PEGylated silver nanoparticles decorated with Graphene Quantum Dots (Ag-GQDs) are going to be tested as an antibacterial disinfection agent in Vero cells.This novel mechanism will be achieved by stimulating siderophore production from the bacteria by exposing it to an iron free medium. Once the siderophores from the bacteria are released they will encounter themselves with the siderophore/ Ag-GQDs conjugated nanocompound in the surrounding medium, to which they will attach and transport towards the inside of the bacterial cell. Then, the antibacterial properties of the Ag-GQDs will cause inhibition of the bacteria. This mechanism mimics that of a natural siderophore hunting for iron, but instead it functions as a Trojan Horse by incorporating the Ag- GQDs into the bacterial cell. The effective delivery of the siderophore-Ag-GQDs conjugated nancompound towards the bacterial cell will be expected to lysis the cell, thus disinfecting the Vero cells without inflicting damage to them. This will offer alternatives methods for the inhibition of bacteria without having to use antibiotics.