Bio-fabrication of titanium oxide nanoparticles from Ochradenus arabicus to obliterate biofilms of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from diabetic foot infections

Abstract

Diabetes and its related complications are responsible for severe morbidity and deaths round the globe. Diabetic foot infections (DFIs) are severe and dreadful complication of diabetes mellitus. DFI/DFUs are colonized with numerous pathogenic, multi-drug-resistant microorganisms and progression in colonization of these microorganism leads to bioflm establishment making treatment challenging. There is an indispensable requirement for alternative approaches to combat this threat. In the present assignment, titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) were fabricated from the leaf extract of Ochradenus arabicus and inhibition of bioflm and related functions was examined against multi-drug-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolated from foot ulcers. Bio-fabricated TiO2-NPs reduced bioflm formation in the selected strains by 22–70% at tested sub-MICs. Signifcant reduction in alginate and severely impaired motility of P. aeruginosa strains was also observed. Key functions such as cell surface hydrophobicity and EPS production that contribute in the attachment and maintenance of bioflm, respectively, were also inhibited considerably in test strains at sub-MICs. Statistically signifcant reduction (51–63%) in the preformed bioflms of all strains was also recorded. Interaction of bacterial cell and TiO2-NPs resulted in increased levels of ROS, and this could be the plausible the reason for the bioflm inhibitory action of NPs. These NPs could be exploited in the current treatment strategies to combat the threat of bioflm-based drugresistant diabetic foot infections and facilitate wound healing.