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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activities of Nanoparticles and Nanostructured Surfaces In Vitro
Published on: April 21, 2023
Hyaluronan- and heparin-reduced silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial properties
Melissa M Kemp1, Ashavani Kumar, Dylan Clement
1Department of Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
Aims:
Silver nanoparticles exhibit unique antibacterial properties that make these ideal candidates for biological and medical applications. We utilized a clean method involving a single synthetic step to prepare silver nanoparticles that exhibit antimicrobial activity.
Materials & Methods:
These nanoparticles were prepared by reducing silver nitrate with diaminopyridinylated heparin (DAPHP) and hyaluronan (HA) polysaccharides and tested for their efficacy in inhibiting microbial growth.
Results & Discussion:
The resulting silver nanoparticles exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and modest activity against Escherichia coli. Silver-HA showed greater antimicrobial activity than silver-DAPHP, while silver-glucose nanoparticles exhibited very weak antimicrobial activity. Neither HA nor DAPHP showed activity against S. aureus or E. coli.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that DAPHP and HA silver nanoparticles have potential in antimicrobial therapeutic applications.
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