Abstract
Nanomedicine is growing due to the development of new medical diagnostic tools and new nanostructure-based therapies that exert direct biological action or function as pharmacological carriers. Nanoparticles (NPs) synthesis provides an eco-friendly approach for different applications. Among NPs, silver NPs (AgNPs) are gaining considerable research interest due to their broad range of activity and their usability in the medical and biotechnology fields. In this study, a new AgNP synthesis method was developed using an aqueous pigeon dropping (PD) extract in silver nitrate (AgNO3). The rapid of AgNPs yield was detected visually. Analysis of UV-vis spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and electron microscopy (TEM) transmission showed a spherical or near spherical shape of AgNPs with mean size of 135 nm. AgNPs antimicrobial activities (anti-bacterial and anti-fungal) were determined using agar well diffusion method. These NPs further screened for anticancer activity in vitro using A-549 and MCF-7 cell lines. The results showed that the inhibition zone for the obtained PD AgNPs versus Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus were 26, 18, 17 and 15 mm, respectively. PD AgNPs showed the highest antifungal effect against Aspergillus flavus and the lowest effect against Penicillium griseofulvum. In vitro anti-cancer activities showed that the inhibitory concentration of 50% (IC50) of AgNPs was 10.3 ± 1.15 and 12.19 ± 0.75 µg mL−1 against A-549 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines, respectively.
Highlights
Nanomaterials are exciting fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology research
AgNPs have emerged as an interesting alternative approach for antimicrobial and cancer treatments, their toxicological effects and low biocompatibility limited their clinical applications [8,9,10]
The biosynthesis of AgNPs in the presence of plant extracts and silver ions yield high biocompatible NPs that may be handled in biomedical settings without significant adverse effects [11]
Summary
Metal NPs are promising in the fields of biomedicine, engineering, chemistry and electronics [1,2]. Among metal NPs, silver NPs (AgNPs) are characterized by their unique properties. AgNPs have been used as antiseptics, antibacterials and anti-cancer agents [3,4,5,6,7]. AgNPs have emerged as an interesting alternative approach for antimicrobial and cancer treatments, their toxicological effects and low biocompatibility limited their clinical applications [8,9,10]. The biosynthesis of AgNPs in the presence of plant extracts and silver ions yield high biocompatible NPs that may be handled in biomedical settings without significant adverse effects [11]
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