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. 2009 Jun;4(4):421-9.
doi: 10.2217/nnm.09.24.

Hyaluronan- and heparin-reduced silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial properties

Melissa M Kemp  1 , Ashavani Kumar, Dylan Clement, Pulickel Ajayan, Shaker Mousa, Robert J Linhardt
Affiliations

Hyaluronan- and heparin-reduced silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial properties

Melissa M Kemp et al. Nanomedicine (Lond). 2009 Jun.

Abstract

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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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. UV-visible spectra of silver (Ag)–glucose, Ag–hyaluronan and Ag–diaminopyridinylated heparin nanoparticles
The plasmon peak at approximately 400−450 nm corresponds to the formation of Ag nanoparticles. The small peak at 300 nm for the Ag–DAPHP corresponds to the absorbance from the diaminopyridine present. Ag: Silver; a.u.: Absorbance units; DAPHP: Diaminopyridinylated heparin; HA: Hyaluronan.
Figure 2
Figure 2. UV-visible spectra of (A) silver–diaminopyridinylated heparin as a function of increasing NaCl concentration from 0 to 1 M, and (B) silver–hyaluronan as a function of increasing NaCl concentration from 0 to 1 M
a.u.: Absorbance units.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Transmission-electron microscope image of silver–diaminopyridinylated heparin at a magnification of (A) ×100k and (B) ×160k, and (C) UV-visible spectra before and after autoclaving
a.u.: Absorbance units.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Transmission-electron microscope image of silver–hyaluronan at a magnification of (A) ×125k and (B) ×125k, and (C) UV-visible spectra before and after autoclaving
a.u.: Absorbance units.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Scanning-electron microscope image of silver–hyaluronan at a magnification of (A) ×93k and (B) ×25k.
Figure 6
Figure 6. The activated partial thromboplastin time assay of diaminopyridinylated heparin (dAPHP) and silver–dAPHP
Fibrometer was manually stopped after 600 s. Ag: Silver; DAPHP: Diaminopyridinylated heparin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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