The synergistic antibacterial activity and mechanism of multicomponent metal ions-containing aqueous solutions against Staphylococcus aureus

Silver (Ag+), zinc (Zn2+) and copper (Cu2+) ions, are well known for their broad-spectrum antibacterial activities while generating low resistance. However, whether or multiple metal ions in aqueous solutions acted synergistically or antagonistically antimicrobial properties, remained unknown. Therefore, it was of great significance to investigate the antibacterial properties of multicomponent metal ions-containing aqueous solutions. In this study, the antibacterial activities of multicomponent metal ions-containing aqueous solutions were investigated for the first time. We found that the antibacterial activities of multicomponent metal ions-containing aqueous solutions were higher than those of single metal ion-containing aqueous solution. Furthermore, the synergistic antibacterial mechanism of these multicomponent metal ions-containing aqueous solutions was first investigated. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through electron transfer in the enzymes and Fenton reactions formed the main synergistic antibacterial mechanism of the multicomponent metal ions-containing aqueous solutions. Therefore, the encouraging results demonstrate the great potential applications of multicomponent metal ions for the design of new biomaterials or prosthesis containing Ag-Cu-Zn alloy which can release Ag+, Zn2+ and Cu2+ and minimize the risk of hospital acquired infection. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.