Catalytic degradation of HIV drugs in water and antimicrobial activity of Chrysin-conjugated Ag-Au, Ag-Cu, and Au-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles

Abstract

Biogenic synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles (BMNPs) have important applications in medicine and catalytic reactions due to their emerging properties. In this study, we report a new approach for the synthesis of biofunctionlized bimetallic silver, gold, and copper (Chry@Ag-Au, Chry@Ag-Cu, and Chry@Au-Cu) nanoparticles using Chry as bioreductant and capping agent, which is a natural anticancer bioflavonoid emerged as potential drug therapy for cancer treatment. The synthesized BMNPs were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET analysis, zeta potential, and UV–Vis spectrometer to know the shape, size, structure, surface area, and bandgap energy. BMNPs were tested for the catalytic degradation of HIV drugs (stavudine (STV) and zidovudine (ZDV)) in the presence of NaBH4 as a reducing agent in an aqueous medium. The maximum degradation (≈ 96 %) of STV and ZDV was observed in 18 min of reaction time using Chry@Ag-Au BMNPs in the presence of NaBH4 and reused up to 5 consecutive runs without significant loss of catalytic activity. The synthesized BMNPs (20 μg/mL) were determined to estimation of antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus subtilis bacteria, as well as fungi such as Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans respectively by well diffusion method.