Application of polymeric amines as adjuvants to overcome resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to tetracycline

Abstract

Overcoming antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microorganisms is important due to the proliferation of initially resistant species whose resistance has increased over decades of antibiotic use. A significant danger is caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schroeter, 1872) Migula, 1900 (blue bacillus), which possesses a strong cell membrane and is capable of forming biofilms around colonies. We found that hydrophilic polyvinylamine, which does not contain any specific functional groups and binding centers, is able to significantly enhance the sensitivity of Ps. aeruginosa to tetracycline. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 0.26-1.16 μg/mL depending on the density of the initial culture of Ps. aeruginosa, which corresponds to the values for sensitive microorganisms.