Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The current study comprised a silver nanocomposite of azithromycin and its action against pseudomonal Gram-negative bacteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, silver nanoparticles of tulsi extract were prepared by the bottom-up method, and a nanocomposite was fabricated by azithromycin incorporation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Silver nanoparticles were subjected to ultraviolet (UV), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), SEM, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) method; and produced satisfactory results. Furthermore, five formulations (NC1-NC5) of nanocomposite were prepared by silver nanoparticle and azithromycin. All nanocomposite formulation was characterized by UV, FT-IR, SEM, XRD, and EDAX. The NC4 formulation was found suitable for further investigation. UV-VIS spectra revealed that the highest absorption band is at 437 nm. FT-IR peaks were observed at 3392.350 cm-1, 1653.456 cm-1 and 1059.043 cm-1. Distinctive silver ion peaks were observed at 670.658 cm-1. Silver nanocomposite showed 2θ values of 38.8°, 44.7°, and 64.9°, and the sizes were 15.218 nm, 6.181 nm, and 14.356 nm for the silver nanocomposite of azithromycin. The average crystalline size of the nanoparticle was computed to be 15.41 nm. The atomic silver component was 60.3% confirmed by the EDAX method. The spherical shape of the nanocomposite was confirmed by an SEM study. NC-4 was further evaluated against the in vitro inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Azithromycin was a positive control. LogIC50 was computed as 1.062-2.419 of NC4 against azithromycin. It exhibits the significant inhibition of the bacterial zone (5 mm) in comparison of azithromycin (7 mm). CONCLUSION: In most cases, azithromycin gets resistant to bacterial infections. To overcome this issue, the silver nanocomposite of azithromycin could be a better alternative against Pseudomonas and other Gram-negative precarious infections.