The synergistic action of silver nanoparticles and ceftazidime against antibiotic-resistant Burkholderia pseudomallei: A modifying treatment

Burkholderia pseudomallei is responsible for melioidosis, a tropical disease that is difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have strong antibacterial properties and are effective against B. pseudomallei. This study investigated the synergistic effect of AgNPs and ceftazidime (CAZ) against B. pseudomallei 316c and H777 strains. The combined use of AgNPs and CAZ showed significantly higher growth inhibition of B. pseudomallei than when used individually. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production and protein leakage analysis revealed that the combined AgNPs-CAZ induced ROS, which had a strong effect. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) was used to investigate the morphology of B. pseudomallei H777, which showed that the surface membrane of bacterial cells was severely damaged after treatment with the combined AgNPs-CAZ. The combined AgNPs-CAZ treatment was also non-toxic to human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells (A549) at low concentrations, with no changes in morphology observed. These findings suggest that combining AgNPs and CAZ could be a promising treatment for melioidosis.