article · Indian Journal of Microbiology
Researchers investigated an environmentally friendly and low-cost method to produce silver, copper, and bimetallic silver-copper nanocomposites extracellularly using the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Two preparation approaches were compared: reducing mixed silver and copper ions simultaneously, and reducing each metal separately before combining them. Structural and optical characterisation confirmed the successful synthesis of nanoscale, spherical particles ranging between 20 and 80 nanometres. When tested against several bacterial and fungal pathogens, the mixture prepared by combining individually reduced particles displayed the strongest antimicrobial potency. In addition, the synthesized nanocomposites demonstrated anticancer activity against a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, alongside low cytotoxic effects against non-cancerous baby hamster kidney cells.
Conventional methods for manufacturing metal nanoparticles often require hazardous chemicals and high energy inputs. Using common bacteria to synthesise bimetallic nanocomposites offers a greener, potentially cheaper production route. Furthermore, developing agents that can kill pathogens and cancer cells while limiting harm to non-cancerous cells addresses ongoing challenges in creating safer treatments for infectious diseases and oncology.
This work points towards potential applications in antimicrobial coatings, treatments, or oncology therapeutics for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. However, because the study is limited to in vitro microbiological assays and standard cell lines, the research remains at an early laboratory stage, requiring extensive safety, formulation, and in vivo testing before any commercial pathway can be established.
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Abstract The present study outlines an easy, cheap, and environmentally friendly way to make Staphylococcus aureus -mediated bimetallic silver-copper nanocomposites (Ag/Cu) that can fight cancer and germs. The gram-positive S. aureus synthesized Ag, Cu, and their bi-metallic nanocomposites extracellularly. We aimed to prepare the bimetallic nanocomposite in two different ways, and we compared them in terms of characterization and biological applications. The first one is a bimetallic nanocomposite (Ag/Cu b ) that was made by mixing Ag and Cu metal ions in equal amounts (50:50). Then, the whole mixture was reduced. The second is the after-reduction bimetallic nanocomposite (Ag/Cu a ), in which each metal ion was reduced separately, and then the nanocomposites were mixed (50:50%) during biological applications. Nanocomposites were characterized using UV–visible spectrophotometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that surface plasmon bands were at 320 nm for Ag NPs and 525 nm for Cu NPs, and a shift from these peaks was observed at 290 nm in the Ag/Cu b bimetallic nanocomposite. The synthesized nanocomposites were confirmed to be in the nanoscale with 20, 40, and 80 nm spherical crystals, respectively. Nanocomposites were assayed for their antimicrobial activity against the gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa , the acid-fast Mycobacterium smegmatis , the gram-positive Bacillus cereus, and S. aureus, in addition to three fungal species, which were Aspergillus flavus , A. fumigatus, and Candida albicans . The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined. The Ag/Cua/Cuaetallic nanocomposite was the most potent antimicrobial compound. The anticancer activity of the tested compounds was assayed against the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG-2). Low cytotoxic activity was recorded in most assayed nanocomposites against the baby hamster kidney cell line (BHK).
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DOI: 10.1007/s12088-024-01229-2
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