Nanoparticles functionalized with ampicillin destroy multiple-antibiotic-resistant isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter aerogenes and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

We show here that silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were intrinsically antibacterial, whereas gold nanoparticles (AuNP) were antimicrobial only when ampicillin was bound to their surfaces. Both AuNP and AgNP functionalized with ampicillin were effective broad-spectrum bactericides against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Most importantly, when AuNP and AgNP were functionalized with ampicillin they became potent bactericidal agents with unique properties that subverted antibiotic resistance mechanisms of multiple-drug-resistant bacteria.