The Resistance of Nanomaterials in Streptococcus Pneumoniae

Undergraduate #114
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Microbiology/Immunology/Virology

Deja Lee - Alabama State University
Co-Author(s): Dr. Mamie T Coats and Veolanda Peoples, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL

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Streptococcus pneumoniae is the major cause of potentially deadly diseases in humans especially affecting children under the age of five, immunocompromised individuals, and the elderly. Bacterial resistance to known antibiotics is an urgent issue. Our research described here and elsewhere has found that nanoparticles do exhibit some antimicrobial properties and can be used as a drug delivery agent. Here we sought to determine how metallic nanoparticles (copper, 50 nm and gold, 10-20 nm) inhibit S. pneumoniae. We found that 0.125μg/mL of copper or greater inhibits the growth of planktonic S. pneumoniae. On the other hand, gold does not have a significant antimicrobial affect against pneumococci. We examined gold particles up to 1mg/mL, however viability was not significantly reduced. Furthermore, copper nanoparticles display unique catalytic activity and generate low toxicity towards mammalian cells. Future studies include examining increasing concentrations of copper and gold to identify a minimum inhibitory dose and examine the genetic response of S. pneumoniae to these particles.

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Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF-REU (DBI-1659166) to Dr. Komal Vig (PI) NSFCREST (HRD-1241701) to Dr. Shree S. Singh (PI).

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mamie T Coats, mcoats@alasu.edu

Role: I found the minimum bactericidal concentration for copper, did a static biofilm with gold, and a MTT assay with copper.