Enhancement in the therapeutic efficacy of thymoquinone by its delivery through polypropylene glycol-functionalized silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles with polymer capping have been used in a variety of analytical and biological applications. In this study, highly stable silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized with polypropylene glycol (PPG) were prepared using a chemical reduction approach. The drug delivery potential of the prepared PPG functionalized silver nanoparticles (PPG-AgNPs) was investigated using thymoquinone (TQ) as a model hydrophobic drug. The size, shape, drug encapsulation efficiency, and in-vitro release of PPG-AgNPs were investigated using different techniques such as Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD), and zeta sizer. An in-vitro experiment and atomic force microscopy were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of thymoquinone loaded in PPG-AgNPs. The antibacterial activity of TQ was significantly boosted by its delivery through PPG-AgNPs compared to the direct application of TQ. Moreover, the biofilm inhibiting potential of the PPG-AgNPs/TQ is remarkably enhanced as compared to TQ alone which is further endorsed by the microscopic analysis. Current work sheds light on the various parameters that can be tweaked to generate a variety of AgNP characteristics for enhancement in the therapeutic efficiency of drugs like thymoquinone.