In Situ Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles in a Hydrogel of Carboxymethyl Cellulose with Phthalated-Cashew Gum as a Promising Antibacterial and Healing Agent

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 18; no. 11; p. 2399
• Main Authors: Lustosa, Ana Karina Marques Fortes, de Jesus Oliveira, Antônia Carla, Quelemes, Patrick Veras, Plácido, Alexandra, da Silva, Francilene Vieira, Oliveira, Irisdalva Sousa, de Almeida, Miguel Peixoto, Amorim, Adriany das Graças Nascimento, Delerue-Matos, Cristina, de Oliveira, Rita de Cássia Meneses, da Silva, Durcilene Alves, Eaton, Peter, de Almeida Leite, José Roberto de Souza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 12-11-2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Anacardium - chemistry; Animal models; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Bacteria; Biocompatibility; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium - chemistry; cashew gum; Cellulose; Electron microscopy; Gels; Gold; healing; hydrogel; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate - chemistry; Hydrogels; In vivo methods and tests; Male; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Metal Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Nanoparticles; Particle Size; Phthalic Acids - chemistry; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Rats, Wistar; Rheological properties; Rheology; Silver; Silver - pharmacology; silver nanoparticles; Spectroscopy; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Toxicity; Transmission electron microscopy; Wound healing; Wound Healing - drug effects; wounds; antibacterial activity; healing; wounds; silver nanoparticles; hydrogel; cashew gum
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms18112399

Silver nanoparticles have been shown to possess considerable antibacterial activity, but in vivo applications have been limited due to the inherent, but low, toxicity of silver. On the other hand, silver nanoparticles could provide cutaneous protection against infection, due to their ability to liberate silver ions via a slow release mechanism, and their broad-spectrum antimicrobial action. Thus, in this work, we describe the development of a carboxymethyl cellulose-based hydrogel containing silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared in the hydrogel in situ, utilizing two variants of cashew gum as a capping agent, and sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. This gum is non-toxic and comes from a renewable natural source. The particles and gel were thoroughly characterized through using rheological measurements, UV-vis spectroscopy, nanoparticles tracking analysis, and transmission electron microscopy analysis (TEM). Antibacterial tests were carried out, confirming antimicrobial action of the silver nanoparticle-loaded gels. Furthermore, rat wound-healing models were used and demonstrated that the gels exhibited improved wound healing when compared to the base hydrogel as a control. Thus, these gels are proposed as excellent candidates for use as wound-healing treatments.