Abstract
Due to the globally identified antibiotic resistance among clinical bacteria, novel antibacterial materials are needed to circumvent drug resistance. In this study, we report a facile synthesis method for the fabrication of a uniform silver (I) oxide (Ag2O) garnished graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite (Ag2O/GO) using sonication and characterized them by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. Furthermore, the antibacterial properties of Ag2O, GO, and Ag2O/GO nanocomposite were studied using drug resistant Gramnegative Escherichia coli (ESBL), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ESBL), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus by well diffusion assay, colony forming ability, and cell membrane permeability assay. The nanocomposite (15.62-1000 mu g/mL) showed excellent antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration of 125 mu g/mL for P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae; 62.5 mu g/mL for E. coli, and 250 mu g/mL for S. aureus. Biofilm inhibition assay revealed the inhibition of biofilm formation in a dose related manner. Inhibition of biofilm formation by 1/2 MIC and MIC of Ag2O and Ag2O/GO against four pathogenic and biofilm forming bacteria was found statistically significant as P <= 0.05 (at 'A MIC) and P <= 0.01 (at 1/2 MIC). These results demonstrated that these facile nanomaterials are promising antibacterial and antibiofilm agents that can be utilized to inhibit the growth of human bacterial pathogens associated with chronic infections.