Background & Aims: The antimicrobial effects of nickel nanoparticles on some bacterial strains such as S. aureus and E.coli have been shown in limited studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of nickel nanoparticles on biofilm formation by mupirocin resistant S. aureus isolates.

Materials & Methods: In this study, 150 S. aureus isolates were collected from educational hospitals in Urmia city. The sensitivity of isolates to mupirocin and other commonly used antibiotics was investigated by agar disk diffusion method. Microtiter dish biofilm formation assay method was used to determine the amounts of biofilm formation in the presence/absence of nickel nanoparticles.

Results: From 150 isolates, 30 ones were resistant to mupirocin. The highest levels of resistance to other antibiotics in Mupirocin resistant isolates were seen to penicillin and Trimetoprim/sulfametoxazol respectively, and the least amounts of resistance were seen to ticoplanin and linezolid, respectively. 33.3% of investigated isolates were biofilm producers. The inhibitory effect of nickel nanoparticles on biofilm formation by mupirocin resistant S.aureus isolates was significant (P = 0.039).

Conclusion: Considering the inhibitory effects of nickel nanoparticles on biofilm of mupirocin resistant S. aureus isolates and the safety of nickel usage in dental materials which allow its administration in the nose and mouth mucosa, after further studies it may be useful for prevention of biofilm formation and removal of the carriers from mupirocin resistant S. aureus.

SOURCE: URMIA MED J 2016: 26(12): 1070 ISSN: 1027-3727