Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Mercaptophenol Functionalized-Gold Nanorods Against a Clinical Isolate of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Abstract Gold nanorods (AuNRs) were synthesized and surface functionalized with 4-mercaptophenol (4-MPH) ligand. The surface-functionalized AuNRs, 4-MPH-AuNRs, were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, zeta potential, and Fourier-Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of 4-MPH-AuNRs were evaluated against a clinical isolate of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The results indicate that the surface-modified nanorods, 4-MPH-AuNRs, exhibit a bactericidal activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ~6.25 \(\mu\)g/ml against a planktonic suspension of MRSA. Furthermore, 4-MPH-AuNRs resulted in 2-3 log-cycle reduction of MRSA biofilm viable count over a concentration range of 100-4.0 \(\mu\)g/ml. The bacterial uptake of surface-modified nanorods was investigated by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging; the results reveal that ~27% of the nanorods were internalized into the bacterial cells after 6 hrs of exposure. SEM imaging revealed a significant accumulation of the nanorods at the bacterial cell wall and a possible cellular internalization. Thus, 4-MPH-AuNRs can be considered a potential novel antibacterial agent, particularly against resistant MRSA strain biofilm.