In Vivo Study of Silver Nanoparticles Entrapped Poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone/Dextran) Hydrogel Synthesized by Gamma Radiation on the Antitumor Activity of Doxorubicin

Abstract

The preparation of interpenetrating hydrogel networks (IPN) based on cross-linked poly (N-vinyl pyrrolidone/Dextran) P(NVP/Dex) and poly (N-vinyl pyrrolidone/Dextran)-Ag nanocomposites P(NVP/Dex)-Ag prepared by gamma radiation. Highly stable and uniformly distributed silver nanoparticles have been obtained within hydrogel networks as nanoreactors via in situ reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as reducing agent. The formation of P(NVP/Dex)-Ag has been confirmed by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The ultraviolet visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy measurements show a distinct characteristic absorption peaks around 420 nm indicating the formation of silver nanoparticles. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results confirm the increase in thermal stability by incorporation of silver nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and dynamic light scattering (DLS) results demonstrate that the hydrogels have regulated the silver nanoparticles size to a nanoscale with a range between 9.9–15.1 nm and 47.1–73.7 nm respectivelly. The combination of silver nanoparticles with Doxorubicin (DOX) as a model of antitumor drug forms a new biocompatible nano-drug. Our results show that, the mixing of silver nanoparticles with Doxorubicin can effectively increase the antitumor activity and enhance the cytotoxicity.