MICROWAVE ASSISTED SYNTHESIS OF k-CARRAGEENAN CAPPED SILVER NANOPAERTICLES FOR HYDROGELS FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF THEIR ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AGAINST BACTERIAL BIOFILMS

Abstract

Maturation of bacterial biofilms and their resistance to recurrent antimicrobial agents results in convoluted infectious diseases that are difficult to cure. Natural bio-polymers are being explored in recent medicinal applications owing to their biocompatibility and non-toxicity. Kappa-Carrageenan is a linear sulfated polymer extracted from seaweed with excellent gelling properties. Advanced metallic nanoparticles conjugated with natural polymers are propelling in recent biomedical field. Microwave technology based green method was developed to synthesize silver nanoparticles by using ĸ-carrageenan as a reducing and stabilizing agent. ĸ-carrageenan capped silver nanoparticles (CRG-Ag Nps) having approximately 83 nm average size were synthesized that were characterized using UVVis spectroscopy, DLS, zeta potential, FTIR, SEM and TEM. CRG-Ag Nps were further investigated for their ability to act as an antimicrobial agent against S.aureus (gram positive) and P.aeruginosa (gram negative) mediated biofilms. CRG-Ag Nps demonstrated a broad spectrum effect against both S.aureus and P.aeruginosa biofilms. CRG-Ag Nps were further encapsulated in KCl cross-linked hydrogel that was characterized using XRD, TGA and SEM technology. Antimicrobial efficacy of CRG-Ag gel was illustrated using broth method and it was shown that it was effective against both S.aureus and P.aeruginosa.