Silver oxynitrate - an efficacious compound for the prevention and eradication of dual-species biofilms

摘要

Preventing and eradicating biofilms remains a challenge in clinical and industrial settings. Recently, the present authors demonstrated that silver oxynitrate (Ag7NO11) prevented and eradicated single-species planktonic and biofilm populations of numerous microbes at lower concentrations than other silver (Ag) compounds. Here, the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm efficacy of Ag7NO11 is elaborated by testing its in vitro activity against combinations of dual-species, planktonic and biofilm populations of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As further evidence emerges that multispecies bacterial communities are more common in the environment than their single-species counterparts, this study reinforces the diverse applicability of the minimal biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) assay for testing antimicrobial compounds against biofilms. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that Ag7NO11 had enhanced antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity compared to copper sulfate (CuSO4) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) against the tested bacterial species.