Repurposing aceclofenac: Antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of the NSAIDs against healthcare-associated infections

The multidrug resistance development in many of the bacterial species is directly related to their ability to form three-dimensional structured biofilms and it brings about serious threat to public health in various aspects.Therefore, there is a need for alternative antimicrobial agents to fight against such bacteria.As it is a unique process of developing antibacterial agents, the process of drug repurposing has attracted the wide attention of scientists across the globe, and in the present study, we tried to repurpose an NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) aceclofenac for its antimicrobial potentials against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli which contribute to hospital-associated infection.It was found that aceclofenac showed significant antibacterial activities at a concentration of 200 µg/ml against all the tested microbes and also, and it has also effectively inhibited biofilm formation.The antibiofilm activities of aceclofenac were evaluated and it effectively eradicated the mature biofilm at 89%, 86%, and 76% against E. faecalis, S. aureus, and E. coli, respectively.Aceclofenac also showed a synergistic effect with the antibiotic rifampicin.Overall, aceclofenac showed antibacterial and antibiofilm activities and it could represent a better alternative as an antimicrobial drug against the mentioned bacteria.