Development of silver nanoparticles loaded chitosan-alginate constructs with biomedical potentialities

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibit potent antimicrobial properties.
• Chitosan-alginate constructs offer biocompatibility and tunable properties for drug delivery.
• Euphorbia helioscopia extract provides a green route for nanoparticle synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant extract.
• To load AgNPs onto chitosan-alginate constructs for enhanced biomedical applications.
• To evaluate the antibacterial, anti-cancer, and cytotoxic effects of the developed materials.

Main Methods:

• Facile biosynthesis of AgNPs using methanolic Euphorbia helioscopia leaves extract.
• Characterization of AgNPs using UV-vis, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDS, AFM, and TEM.
• Loading of AgNPs onto chitosan-alginate scaffolds at varying ratios (2:1, 2:2).
• Assessment of antibacterial activity against six bacterial strains.
• Evaluation of cytotoxicity against normal (L929) and cancer (HeLa) cell lines.

Main Results:

• Successful biosynthesis and characterization of AgNPs confirmed by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques.
• High loading efficiency of AgNPs onto chitosan-alginate constructs, reaching 95% at a 2:1 ratio.
• Significant reduction in bacterial growth observed for all AgNP-loaded constructs compared to controls.
• Demonstrated biocompatibility with normal L929 cells.
• Considerable cytotoxicity against HeLa cancer cells, indicating anti-cancer potential.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully developed novel AgNPs and AgNP-loaded chitosan-alginate constructs via a green biosynthesis approach.
• These constructs exhibit significant antibacterial efficacy and promising anti-cancer activity.
• The materials demonstrate excellent biocompatibility, suggesting their potential for diverse biomedical applications.