Study of the inhibitory effect of Silver Nanoparticles on Extensively Drug-resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (TB) strains

Introduction: One of crucial focus within phthisiology is the exploration and analyses of substances capable of overcoming resistance to anti-TB medications in drug-resistant mycobacterium TB strains. While substantial experimental data confirm the bactericidal effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on various drug-resistant strains, there remains the notable gap in understanding their action against Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB), particularly in drug-resistant cases. The inhibitory efficacy of AgNPs on MTB strains causing pre-XDR-TB has remained largely unexplored. Our study was specifically aimed at investigating this aspect. Methods: In this study, 20-nanometer AgNPs were used. To create the nanoparticle suspension, a high-frequency ultrasound homogenizer disruptor disintegrator (Ultrasonic Processor FS-1800N) was utilized.  The in vitro experiment was conducted using 35 cultures of rifampicin and fluoroquinolone-resistant Mycobacterium TB (pre-XDR-MTB) obtained from participants’ sputum samples with tuberculosis. The experiment was conducted in a liquid media using BACTEC MGIT 960 system.                            Results: The conducted study demonstrated that adding 0.25%, 0.5% and 1.0% AgNPs suspensions to pre-XDR-MTB strains was completely ineffective; The growth of preXDR-MTB strains was inhibited, with minimal inhibitory effects observed when using a 2.5% AgNPs solution. Complete inhibition and a bactericidal effect were noted with the addition of 5% and 10% AgNPs solutions.      Conclusion: The experimental study confirmed the inhibitory effect of AgNPs on preXDR-MTB  strains. These results provide a solid foundation for further research to investigate the safety of using AgNPs and their potential to restore the efficacy of anti-TB medications.