Bactericidal Effect of Silver Nanoparticles on Intramacrophage Brucella abortus 544

BACKGROUND Brucellosis is an infectious disease that is caused by Brucella spp. As Brucella spp. are intramacrophage pathogens, the treatment of this infection is very difficult. On the other hand, due to the side effects of the brucellosis treatment regime, it is necessary to find new antimicrobial agents against it. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effect of silver nanoparticles against Brucella abortus 544 in the intramacrophage condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS The antimicrobial effect of silver nanoparticles was determined by an agar well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of silver nanoparticles against B. abortus 544 were determined by a broth macrodilution method. The effect of time on the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles was analyzed. The effect of silver nanoparticles on the intramacrophage survival of B. abortus 544 was studied on mice peritoneal macrophages. RESULTS The well diffusion agar study showed that silver nanoparticles have an antimicrobial effect on B. abortus 544. The MIC and MBC of silver nanoparticles against B. abortus 544 were; 6 ppm and 8 ppm, respectively. The silver nanoparticles showed antibacterial effects within 40 minutes. The results of the macrophage culture indicated that silver nanoparticles have antibacterial activity against intramacrophage B. abortus 544, and the highest efficiency was observed at a concentration of 8-10 ppm of silver nanoparticles. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that silver nanoparticles have an antimicrobial effect against intramacrophage B. abortus 544.