Discovery of antibacterial biogenic magnetosome nanoparticles from Providencia sp. MTBPRB-1: Screening, purification and characterization

What is it about?

Our research focused on a special group of bacteria called magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), which are unique because they produce tiny iron particles within their cells. These iron particles, known as magnetosomes, help bacteria align with Earth's magnetic field. In this study, we isolated a specific MTB strain called Providencia sp. PRB-1 and extracted its magnetosomes. We analyzed these magnetosome nanoparticles to determine whether they could be used to fight harmful bacteria. Our tests showed that these magnetosome nanoparticles could significantly inhibit the growth of three common and harmful bacteria: Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. These nanoparticles are quite small, with an average size of just 42 nanometers, and are composed of iron and oxygen, indicating the presence of magnetite, a type of iron oxide.

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Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings suggest that these naturally occurring magnetosome nanoparticles could be a promising new method to combat bacterial infections.