Magnetite nanoparticles influence the efficacy of antibiotics against biofilm embedded Staphylococcus aureus cells

The expansion of bacterial antibiotic resistance is a growing problem today, and has determined the intensification of studies for finding out new alternatives to antibiotic treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) to achieve a sustained and controlled drug release and subsequently improve the efficacy of antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus, one of the most frequently isolated opportunistic pathogens, responsible for severe infections in immunocompromised patients with indwelling catheters or other biomedical devices. The obtained results showed that Fe3O4 nanoparticles functionalized with different antibiotics exhibited an inhibitory activity on growth and the biofilm formation of S. aureus strain superior to that exhibited by each antibiotic alone. The studied magnetic nanoparticles could act as efficient antibiotic potentiators and delivery systems for combating S. aureus biofilms on biomedical devices or human tissues.