Halloysite nanoparticles of detritus from mangrove-estuarine ecosystem: Potential as antibacterial agents and wound healing activity

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Halloysite nanoparticles are emerging in drug delivery in recent years because of their high level of biocompatibility. Chronic nonhealing wounds pose a substantial economic burden on health care systems. The chronic and complicated nature of nonhealing wounds has led to the development of several nanotechnology-based therapies. The present study aims at finding a suitable biomedical application of the unique shaped halloysites obtained from the detritus of the estuarine mangrove ecosystem. Materials and Methods: Halloysite nanoparticles are purified after collecting from the intertidal soils of mangrove- estuarine ecosystem in eastern India and characterized following standard methods using a transmission electron microscope, X-Ray Diffraction technique and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. After that boric acid was conjugated to halloysite because they significantly get loaded into the halloysite nanoparticle and these newly formed biochemical entities have been observed to increase the antibacterial activity as revealed by scanning electron microscopic studies. Results: Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies have revealed that the detritus from the estuarine mangrove ecosystem contains halloysite nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are rod-shaped and amorphous. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy has also shown that the particles are halloysite, mainly composed of both minerogenic (aluminum silicates) as well as organic (humic substances containing phenolic OH) substances. This halloysite conjugated boric acid is a fast healer of the burn-induced wound in male Swiss albino mice. Results derived from the release kinetics have highlighted the removal of boric acid totally from the conjugate halloysite within 5 minutes in the presence of 0.5% H2O2. Conclusion: Thus, this natural biocompatible halloysite particle, chemically identical to kaolinite structure characterized in having free hydroxyl groups, finds a wide range of nanotechnology-based applications, especially for capturing drug and sustained release in biomedical applications. Key words: ; ; ; ; .