Green Silver Nanoparticles Confined in Monolithic Silica Disk-packed Spin Column for Human Serum Albumin Preconcentration

Abstract

Background: In recent times many new uses have been found for nanomaterials that have undergone homogenous immobilization within porous supports. For this paper, immobilization of SNPs on a thiol-functionalized silica monolith using a fast, easy, environmentally friendly and costeffective process was performed. This was achieved by modifying the surface of a silica-based monolith using thiol groups, and then we fabricated green SNPs in situ, reducing an inorganic precursor silver nitrate solution (AgNO3) by employing tangerine peel extract as a reducing reagent, with Ag-thiol bonds forming along the monument. Doing this allows monoliths to be prepared in such a way that, as TEM analysis demonstrated, SNPs are evenly distributed along the rod's length. Once the materials had been fabricated, they were employed as a sorbent by being placed in a centrifuge. The SNP-thiol functionalized silica monolith was then tested using a standard protein (HSA). Methods: The process involves creating monolithic materials by employing a two-part sol-gel technique before modifying the surface of the silica-based monolith using thiol groups for hosting purposes. Homogenous surface coverage was achieved through the use of a non-toxic "green" reducing reagent (tangerine peel extract) to reduce a silver nitrate solution in place to create SNPs joined to the pore surface of a thiol-functionalized silica monolith, employing bonds of Ag-thiol. Once these materials were synthesized, they were classified by utilizing a number of methods based on SEM coupled with EDAX, TEM, AFM and BET analysis. The silica-based monolith, embedded with constructed SNPs, was employed as a sorbent in the preconcentration of human serum albumin (HSA). Results: The performance of the fabricated materials was measured against a silica-based monolith with no SNPs. Also, a silica monolith with constructed SNPs embedded was employed to capture HSA within a sample of human urine mixed with a double detergent concentrate (SDS). Such a monolith containing functionalized SNPs can be a highly effective sorbent for preconcentration of proteins in complex samples. Conclusion: It was shown to have superior performance compared to a bare silica-based monolith. Additionally, it was shown that a monolithic column modified by SNPs could preconcentrate spiked HSA in urine samples.