Silver oxynitrate - an efficacious compound for the prevention and eradication of dual-species biofilms.

Preventing and eradicating biofilms remains a challenge in clinical and industrial settings. Recently, the present authors demonstrated that silver oxynitrate (AgNO) prevented and eradicated single-species planktonic and biofilm populations of numerous microbes at lower concentrations than other silver (Ag) compounds. Here, the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm efficacy of AgNO is elaborated by testing its in vitro activity against combinations of dual-species, planktonic and biofilm populations of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Silver oxynitrate, an unexplored silver compound with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity.

Historically it has been accepted, and recent research has established, that silver (Ag) is an efficacious antimicrobial agent. A dwindling pipeline of new antibiotics, combined with an increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant infections, is bringing Ag to the fore as a therapeutic compound to treat infectious diseases. Currently, many formulations of Ag are being deployed for commercial and medical purposes, with various degrees of effectiveness at killing microbial cells.