Dual-functional acetogenin nanofibers: bridging biomedical activity with brain-inspired neuromorphic devices

Annonaceous acetogenins, a structurally unique polyketide derived mainly from Annona muricata have garnered substantial scientific interest due to their multifaceted therapeutic potential across a broad spectrum of pathological conditions. Herein, we report the successful isolation of Bullatacin acetogenin via High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and its subsequent structural elucidation by tandem mass spectrometry. Leveraging the purified acetogenin as a functional precursor, we synthesized acetogenin-based nanofibers (AC NFs) using an electrospinning technique. The synthesized AC NFs demonstrated notable in vitro anticancer activity against A549 lung carcinoma cells and excellent biocompatibility with NL-20 lung cells, alongside significant antioxidant potential, mitigating oxidative stress-associated co-morbidities linked to cancer progression, thereby reinforcing their potential as promising candidates for therapeutic applications. Additionally, AC NFs-based resistive switching device (Ag/AC NFs/Al/SiO₂/Si) were fabricated, which demonstrated bipolar resistive switching (V_SET: - 1.95 V) and (V_RESET: + 1.64 V), endurance exceeding 5000 cycles, and retention ~ 10⁴ s. Statistical analysis confirmed low cycle-to-cycle variation for I_SET (coefficient of variation, CV: 7.96%, β: 14.22) and I_RESET (CV: 12.59%, β: 10.84), and narrow resistance state distributions (CV: 2.48%, β: 45.61 for HRS; CV: 3.27%, β: 39.43 for LRS). Furthermore, the device effectively emulates both fundamental and complex synaptic behaviours. The potentiation and depression were demonstrated over multiple pulse trains. The device mimicked excitatory postsynaptic current, inhibitory postsynaptic current, paired-pulse facilitation and depression. This work highlights a unique multifunctional platform derived from natural products, bridging biomedical therapeutics with advanced bio-inspired electronics.