Development and Characterization of Gold Nanoparticles Conjugates to Increase Bioavailability of 6-Gingerol

Abstract

6-Gingerol, an abundant component of Zingiber officinale, acts as a cardiotonic and is also used in the treatment of cancer disease, but its low solubility makes it very challenging in therapeutic applications. As we are all aware of the metal toxicity of nanoparticles, here we are using gold metal because gold nanoparticles are found to have lower toxicity than other metals. In this study, we prepared optimized conjugated gold nanoparticles of 6-Gingerol (Au-6G-PVP-NPs) by chemical reduction method using polyvinylpyrrolidone, a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, to increase the bioavailability and solubility of 6-Gingerol. The prepared nanoparticle conjugate was evaluated on different parameters such as pH, solubility, Zeta potential, TEM, DLS, polydispersity index, in vitro release, and stability studies to meet the criteria. The study concluded that gold nanoparticles conjugated with 6-Gingerol showed good solubility in gastric pH, effective drug release, and were more stable than free 6-Gingerol. Hence, it can be concluded that these conjugates can be used for cardiac disease as well as cancer treatment due to their good bioavailability, drug release, improved biocompatibility, stability, and decreased cytotoxicity.