Antimicrobial synergism and antibiofilm activity of amoxicillin loaded citric acid-magnesium ferrite nanocomposite: Effect of UV-illumination, and membrane leakage reaction mechanism.

Magnesium ferrite nanoparticles (Mg FeO NPs) was synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method and characterized via structural and optical properties. The surface of Mg FeO NPs was stabilized with citric acid (CA) by a direct addition method (CA-Mg FeO NPs), then Amoxicillin (AX) was loaded with CA-Mg FeO nanocomposites. Furthermore, their antimicrobial, and antibiofilm activities, growth curve, and effect of UV-illumination methods were examined against different pathogenic microbes. Based on XRD, HRTEM and SEM analyses, it is found that Mg FeO NPs are located at the core, while the CA and AX are coated this core. In-vitro zone of inhibition (ZOI) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results verified that AX-loaded CA-Mg FeO nanocomposites exhibited its encouraged antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans (32.2, 22.0, and 19.0 mm ZOI, respectively) & (0.312, 0.625, and 1.25 μg/ml MIC, respectively). AX-CA-Mg FeO nanocomposites are showed antibiofilm percentage against S. aureus (95.34%), E. coli (93.93%), and C. albicans (76.23%). AX-CA-MgFeO nanocomposites are an excellent disinfectant agents once they are excited by UV light. Membrane leakage assay explains the formation of holes on the surface of bacteria, and confirms SEM reaction mechanism. AX-loaded CA-Mg FeO NPs are promising for potential applications in biomedical uses.