Investigation of class-d beta-lactamases causing carbapenem resistance in clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates

Background/aim: Acinetobacter baumannii is an important causative agent of nosocomial infections, and carbapenems have been frequently used in the treatment of these infections. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of primary carbapenem hydrolyzing oxacillinase (CHO) types in clinical A. bumannii strains. Materials and methods: Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 76 imipenem nonsusceptible A. baumannii strains, isolated from a tertiary care hospital, were determined by microdilution method. The clonal relationship of the isolates was analyzed with enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR, and the presence of CHO major groups (OXA-23; OXA-24, OXA-51, and OXA-58 groups) was investigated with multiplex PCR. Results: According to the ERIC-PCR patterns, the isolates were distributed in 13 different clones, the largest of which had 40 members. blaOXA-51-group was detected in representatives of all clones, whereas blaOXA-23-group was detected in representatives of all but two small clones. Additionally, the presence of blaOXA-58-group was discovered in the members of two small clones, whereas blaOXA-24-group was not encountered in any of the examined strains. Conclusion: Molecular fingerprinting revealed that most imipenem-resistant A. baumannii strains were clonally related. blaOXA-23-group and blaOXA-51-group were mostly responsible for the imipenem resistance of the examined A. baumannii strains.

Antimicrobial bio-nanocomposite films based on gelatin, tragacanth, and zinc oxide nanoparticles - Microstructural, mechanical, thermo-physical, and barrier properties.

Gelatin and tragacanth were employed to fabricate antimicrobial nanocomposites with 1, 3, and 5% zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). FT-IR and XRD proved new chemical interactions among GEL/TGC/ZnO-NPs and higher crystallinity of nanocomposites, respectively. DSC showed a significant increase in melting point temperature (Tm) from ~ 90 to ~ 93-101 °C after adding 1-5% ZnO-NPs. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) was remarkably increased to 31.21, 34.57, and 35.06 MPa, as well as Young's Modulus to 287.44, 335.47, and 367.04 MPa after incorporating 1, 3, and 5% ZnO-NPs. The ZnO-NPs dose-dependently reduced the water vapor permeability (WVP) of the films. FE-SEM analysis from surface and cross-section illustrated the compact and homogenous structure of the nanocomposites even up to 5% ZnO-NPs. The ZnO-NPs-containing nanocomposites had a good antimicrobial activity (~10-20 mm) against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Generally, the results indicated that the prepared nanocomposite films are promising antimicrobial bio-materials for food packaging.