Highly monodispersed gold nanoparticles synthesis and inhibition of herpes simplex virus infections

This work relates to quasi spherical gold nanoparticles synthesis and successful antiviral efficacy evaluations against Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. Ultrasound induced rapid reduction in gallic acid (GA) leads to highly monodispersed gold nanoparticles (GAunps). GAunps plasmonic peak was recorded at 531 nm with TEM size of 7.86 nm. X-ray diffraction and SAED pattern proved fcc crystalline structure. FTIR studies confirmed nanoparticles surface conjugation with gallic acid. The antiviral efficacy of GAunps was studied against HSV infections in Vero cells. GAunps were effective in dose-dependent manner with EC₅₀ of 32.3 μM in HSV-1 and 38.6 μM in HSV-2. Further study revealed that GAunps prevented viral attachment and penetration into the Vero cells. The inhibition percentage varied with the nanoparticles exposure time in infected cells. Nanoparticles cytotoxicity (CC₅₀ 972.4 μM) in Vero cells was significantly lower than acyclovir (CC₅₀ 561.7 μM) indicating its safety. Bio-safe gold nanoparticles were proposed as a safer alternative in virus chemotherapy.