Use of atomic quantum cluster (AQC) as antimicrobial agents and biocides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9315380-B2
Application number	US-68164208-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2008
Priority date	Oct 5, 2007
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

The invention relates to the use of stable atomic quantum clusters (AQC) with antimicrobial activity. The stable AQCs include at least 500 metal atoms (Mn, n<500), the metals being selected from among Au, Ag, Co, Cu, Pt, Fe, Cr, Pd, Ni, Rh, Pb or bi- or multi-metallic combinations thereof. Said AQCs are used as antimicrobial agents, antifungal agents and biocides at concentrations of the order of between 1 nM and 100 nM or more in relation to atoms of the corresponding metal. The antimicrobial activity is specific to both the type of metal and size of cluster used.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for the inhibition of the growth of a microorganism, comprising:
contacting the microorganism with 1 to 100 nM of stable Atomic Quantum Clusters (AQCs), the AQCs consisting of between 2 to less than 27 Au atoms and clusters of 2 to less than 27 Ag atoms.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the AQCs consist of 2 to 5 metal atoms.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is a bacteria or a fungus.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is a bacteria selected from among a Gram-positive bacteria, a Gram-negative bacteria, an anaerobic bacteria, an acid-alcohol resistant bacteria, a spiral bacteria, a rickettsia bacteria, a mycoplasma bacteria, and an actinomyces bacteria.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising contacting the bacteria with an agent selected from among a penicillin, a carbapenem, a monobactam, a fluoroquinolone, a cephalosporins, an aminoglycoside, a macrolide, a ketolide, a tetracycline, a glycylcycline, a glycopeptide, a nitrofurantoin, Fosfomycin, Rifamycin, Metronidazole, Quinupristin, Linezolid, Daptomycin, Chloramphenicol, Clindamycin, fusidic acid, Trimethoprim and Celestine.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is a Gram positive bacteria selected from among Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococsus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Enterococcus faecalis or faecimus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium tetanus , and Clostridium novyi.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is a Gram negative bacteria selected from among Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Neisseria gonorrheae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus parainfluenza, Haemophilus haemolyticus, Haemophilus parahaemolyticus, Haemophilus aphrophilus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Campylobacter foetus, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Helicobacter pylori, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio opticus, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella species, Shigella sonnei, Shigella boydii, Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, Brúcela suis, Rickettsia rickettsii, Francisella tularensis, Pasteurella multocida, Yersinia pestis, Acinetobacter baumani, Yersinia enterocolitica, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Proteus mirabilis, Bacteroides species, Fusobacterium species, Bordetella pertussis , and Legionella pneumophilia.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is a bacteria selected from among Chlamydia, Chlamydophila, Mycoplasma Pneumonie, Rickettsia, Mycobacterium, Treponema pallidum, Treponema pertenue, Treponema carateum, Leptospira interrogans, Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia turicatae, Borrelia parkeri and Borrelia burgdorferi, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium Bovis, Mycobacterium africanum, Mycobacterium microtii , and Mycobacterium leprae.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is a fungus selected from among Actinomyces, Aspergillus, Blatomyces, Candida, Cromoblastomices, Cocidios, Criptococcus, Dermatophitos, Fusarius, Histoplasma, Madura, Mocor, Nocardia, Paracocidius, Penicillinum, Phaeohyphomyces, Scedosporium , and Sporotricum.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising contacting the fungus with an agent selected from among Amphotericin, Caspofungin, Micafungin, Anidulafungin, Fluconazole, Flucytosine, Griseofulvin, Imidazole, Itraconazole, Ketoconazole, Miconazole, Nystatin, Posaconazole, Terbinafine, and Voriconazole.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the microorganism with the AQCs comprises administering the AQCs to a subject afflicted with a disease caused by the microorganism.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the subject is afflicted with a disease-caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria or nosocomial infections.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the microorganism with the AQCs comprises
(a) adding the AQCs to a product, wherein the product is selected from among a phytosanitary product, a cosmetic product, a disinfectant product, an in vitro clinical diagnostic test kit, a paint, a sealant, a polymer, and a plastic; and
(b) contacting the product obtained in (a) which comprises the AQCs with the microorganism.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the products comprising the AQCs are used in: water treatment, construction, automotive, textile, hospital, or surgical materials.

Assignees

• Lopez Quintela Manuel Arturo
• Rivas Rey José
• Blanco Varela María Carmen
• Univ Santiago Compostela

Inventors

• Lopez Quintela Manuel Arturo
• Rivas Rey José
• Blanco Varela María Carmen

Classifications

• A61P31/06

  for tuberculosis · CPC title

• A61P31/04

  Antibacterial agents · CPC title

• A61P31/10

  Antimycotics · CPC title

• B82Y5/00 Primary

  Nanobiotechnology or nanomedicine, e.g. protein engineering or drug delivery · CPC title

• A61K45/06

  Mixtures of active ingredients without chemical characterisation, e.g. antiphlogistics and cardiaca · CPC title