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. 2022 Aug 17;14(16):3352.
doi: 10.3390/polym14163352.

Synthesis of Silver Nanocomposite Based on Carboxymethyl Cellulose: Antibacterial, Antifungal and Anticancer Activities

Salem S Salem  1 , Amr H Hashem  1 , Al-Aliaa M Sallam  2 , Ahmed S Doghish  3   4 , Abdulaziz A Al-Askar  5 , Amr A Arishi  6 , Amr M Shehabeldine  1
Affiliations

Synthesis of Silver Nanocomposite Based on Carboxymethyl Cellulose: Antibacterial, Antifungal and Anticancer Activities

Salem S Salem et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Traditional cancer treatments include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. According to medical sources, chemotherapy is still the primary method for curing or treating cancer today and has been a major contributor to the recent decline in cancer mortality. Nanocomposites based on polymers and metal nanoparticles have recently received the attention of researchers. In the current study, a nanocomposite was fabricated based on carboxymethyl cellulose and silver nanoparticles (CMC-AgNPs) and their antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities were evaluated. The antibacterial results revealed that CMC-AgNPs have promising antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (Klebsiella oxytoca and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus). Moreover, CMC-AgNPs exhibited antifungal activity against filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, and A. terreus. Concerning the HepG2 hepatocellular cancer cell line, the lowest IC50 values (7.9 ± 0.41 µg/mL) were recorded for CMC-AgNPs, suggesting a strong cytotoxic effect on liver cancer cells. As a result, our findings suggest that the antitumor effect of these CMC-Ag nanoparticles is due to the induction of apoptosis and necrosis in hepatic cancer cells via increased caspase-8 and -9 activities and diminished levels of VEGFR-2. In conclusion, CMC-AgNPs exhibited antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities, which can be used in the pharmaceutical and medical fields.

Keywords: anticancer; antimicrobial; carboxymethyl cellulose; silver nanoparticles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
FTIR spectrum and XRD pattern of CMC-AgNPs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TEM image (A), SEM image (B), and SEM/EDX mapping analysis (C–E) of CMC-AgNPs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Antifungal activity of CMC-AgNPs and their start materials using agar well diffusion method.
Figure 4
Figure 4
In-vitro cytotoxic activities of CMC-AgNPs against MCF-7 and HepG2 cell lines. The results are shown as the mean ± SD. * Significantly different from the Taxol group at p < 0.001.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of CMC-AgNPs on VEGFR-2 (pg/mL) in HepG2 cells compared to taxol (A); effect of CMC-AgNPs on caspase-8 and caspase-9 (ng/mL) in HepG2 cells compared to taxol (B). The results are shown as the mean ± SD. * Significantly different from the control (HepG2 cells) group at p < 0.0001.
Figure 6
Figure 6
CMC-AgNPs induce apoptosis in the HepG2. (A) Control, (B) CMC-AgNPs, and (C) a graphical representation for % of apoptotic and necrotic cells. * Significantly different from the control group at p < 0.0001.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Flow cytometry analysis of the cell-cycle distribution of HepG2 cells. (A) Control, (B) CMC-AgNPs, and (C) a graphical represent of cell-cycle distribution analysis among different treated cells. * Significantly different from the control group at p < 0.0001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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