Electrospun silk fibroin and gelatin blended nanofibers functionalized with noble metal nanoparticles for enhanced biomedical applications

Abstract

The combination of highly anticancer active platinum group metals and biocompatible natural fibers exhibits significant anticancer activity while also allowing cell regeneration and repair to the damaged region. In this research, platinum and palladium nanoparticles anchored silk fibroin and gelatin (SF/GL/Pd-Pt) hybrid composite nanofiber was fabricated through the electrospinning method. The amino groups in SF and GL act as a reducingd stabilizing agent for the resulting Pd and Pt nanoparticles. Morphological and functional studies confirmed that crystalline Pd and Pt nanoparticles with average sizes of 5.11 and 3.03 nm are anchored on a 154.93 ± 34.19 nm SF/GL nanofiber matrix. The atomic force microscopic (AFM) images show that the SF/GL/Pd-Pt composite nanofiber has a thickness of 4.74 nm and a roughness area (Ra) of 258.5 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) results confirmed the presence of C, N, O, Pt, and Pd in the composite fiber with an atomic percentage of 67.56%, 11.05%, 17.72%, 2.01% and 1.66%. respectively. This SF/GL/Pd-Pt composite nanofiber is more effective than its counterparts in terms of anticancer activity (IC50 value of 28.82 µg/mL−1) against A549 human lung carcinoma cells. Furthermore, the β-actin and Hsp90 gene expression in A549 cells confirmed its superior anticancer activity.