Because
of their antibacterial activity, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)
have been explored in biomedical applications. Similarly, nitric oxide
(NO) is an important endogenous free radical with an antimicrobial
effect and toxicity toward cancer cells that plays pivotal roles in
several processes. In this work, biogenic AgNPs were prepared using
green tea extract and the principles of green chemistry, and the NO
donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was prepared by
the nitrosation of glutathione. To enhance the potentialities of GSNO
and AgNPs in biomedical applications, the NO donor and metallic nanoparticles
were individually or simultaneously incorporated into polymeric solid
films of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG).
The resulting solid nanocomposites were characterized by several techniques,
and the diffusion profiles of GSNO and AgNPs were investigated. The
results demonstrated the formation of homogeneous PVA/PEG solid films
containing GSNO and nanoscale AgNPs that are distributed in the polymeric
matrix. PVA/PEG films containing AgNPs demonstrated a potent antibacterial
effect against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains.
GSNO-containing PVA/PEG films demonstrated toxicity toward human cervical
carcinoma and human prostate cancer cell lines. Interestingly, the
incorporation of AgNPs in PVA/PEG/GSNO films had a superior effect
on the decrease of cell viability of both cancer cell lines, compared
with cells treated with films containing GSNO or AgNPs individually.
To our best knowledge, this is the first report to describe the preparation
of PVA/PEG solid films containing GSNO and/or biogenically synthesized
AgNPs. These polymeric films might find important biomedical applications
as a solid material with antimicrobial and antitumorigenic properties.
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