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This study explores different mechanisms of antimicrobial action by designing hybrid nanomaterials that provide a new approach in the fight against resistant microbes. Here, we present a cheap copper-polyaniline (Cu-PANI) nanocomposite material with enhanced antimicrobial properties, prepared by simple in situ polymerization method, when polymer and metal nanoparticles are produced simultaneously. The copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) are uniformly dispersed in the polymer and have a narrow size distribution (dav = 6 nm). We found that CuNPs and PANI act synergistically against three strains, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans, and resulting nanocomposite exhibits higher antimicrobial activity than any component acting alone. Before using the colony counting method to quantify its time and concentration antimicrobial activity, different techniques (UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry) were used to identify the optical, structural, and chemical aspects of the formed Cu-PANI nanocomposite. The antimicrobial activity of this nanocomposite shows that the microbial growth has been fully inhibited; moreover, some of the tested microbes were killed. Atomic force microscopy revealed dramatic changes in morphology of tested cells due to disruption of their cell wall integrity after incubation with Cu-PANI nanocomposite.

The global rise in the resistance of pathogens to conventional antibiotics has created an intensive search for alternative materials with antimicrobial properties. This study is performed with an intention to investigate the combined effects of poly(l-glutamic acid)-capped silver nanoparticles (AgNpPGA) and ascorbic acid (AscH) encapsulated within freeze-dried poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanospheres to obtain a nanomaterial with simultaneous osteoinductive, antioxidative, and prolonged antimicrobial properties. The influence of PLGA/AgNpPGA/AscH particles on (i) viability and superoxide production of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro, (ii) morphology and expression of osteogenic markers in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro, and (iii) antimicrobial activity against a Gram-positive bacterium, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and a Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, was investigated. PLGA/AgNpPGA/AscH nanoparticles showed a superior and extended antibacterial activity against both types of bacteria. The nanoparticles appeared to be capable of delivering ascorbate to the cells, which was evidenced by the significant decrease in the level of superoxides in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and which could have a therapeutic potential in preventing oxidative stress. PLGA/AgNpPGA/AscH nanoparticles had a positive effect on MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells in vitro, promoting: (i) an intimate contact with the cells and preservation of their healthy morphologies; (ii) unreduced cell viability; and (iii) multiple-fold upregulation of two osteogenic markers: osteocalcin and type I procollagen. It is concluded that PLGA/AgNpPGA/AscH nanospheres present a promising new material for the treatment of infections and use in wound dressings and other prophylactic applications.