Silver Nanoparticles and Antibiotics: A Promising Synergistic Approach to Multidrug-Resistant Infections

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance; Antimicrobial synergy; Silver nanoparticles

Resistència als antibiòtics; Sinergia antimicrobiana; Nanopartícules de plata

Resistencia a los antibióticos; Sinergia antimicrobiana; Nanopartículas de plata

The escalating threat of antibiotic resistance demands innovative strategies against multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms, particularly in hospital settings where such infections represent a major global health challenge. Since the rapid growth of nanotechnology interdisciplinary research and funding programs in the 2000s, silver ions have re-emerged as potent antimicrobial agents, offering a promising complement to conventional therapies. This therapeutic potential is nowadays explored through the use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as sources for silver ions release. Recent studies have shown that controlled silver ion release enhances the efficacy of common antibiotics. This can be attributed to the energetically demanding nature of the bacterial response to silver, which weakens bacterial metabolism and, in turn, overwhelms bacterial defenses and increases antibiotic effectiveness. Herein, historical insights into the use of colloidal silver and AgNPs are combined with a review of recent research on the exploitation of the synergistic effect between AgNPs and antibiotics as a promising strategy against MDR pathogens.

This research was funded by the international joint research projects program MCIN/AEI (CONCORD, PCI2019-103436), co-funded by the European Union and Generalitat de Catalunya (2021-SGR-00878). ICN2 is supported by the Severo Ochoa program from Spanish MCIN/AEI (Grant No.: CEX2021-001214-S) and receives funding from the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya.