Isolation, identification, and characterization of Bacillus subtilis SMP-2 from panitenga and exploring its potential for biosurfactant production

Engineered albumin hydrogel with in-situ silver oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Hydrogel-based treatment strategies have proven their significance in the field of drug delivery, wound healing, and tissue scaffolds, offering significant advantages over conventional treatment methods. The present study attempts to assess the hydrogel formation capability of a biopolymer, bovine serum albumin (BSA), without the addition of any crosslinker agents. Next, the in situ synthesis of silver (Ag) nanoparticles into the hydrogel was explored at two different concentrations of Ag as BSA + 5 mM AgNPs (BSA5) and BSA + 10 mM AgNPs (BSA10). The thermally aggregated BSA+Ag hydrogels exhibited excellent gel consistency with the successful formation of Ag nanoparticles. The incorporation of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) into the BSA hydrogel matrix was confirmed via the peaks obtained through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In FTIR, prominent redshifts (when compared with control BSA without Ag incorporation) suggested the interaction of peptide bonds of BSA with the surface of AgNPs, whereas the XRD analysis showed the presence of AgNPs in two distinct phases, i.e., Ag2O and AgO. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed random distribution and irregular shapes of the synthesized AgNPs, with an average size of particles being 67 ± 20 nm and 62 ± 21 nm in BSA5 and BSA10, respectively. Moreover, the integration of AgNPs within the BSA hydrogel matrix tuned the hydrophobicity, swelling ratio, and rheological properties. The hydrogel became hydrophobic in the presence of nanoparticles, which, in turn, reduced the swelling ratio. The nanoparticles significantly enhanced the critical stress threshold for the hydrogel from 6.2 Pa to 175 Pa. Antibacterial tests confirmed the broad-spectrum activity against pathogenic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. The cytotoxicity analysis of the synthesized BSA+Ag hydrogel exhibited over 90% cell viability, highlighting excellent biocompatibility. With effective antibacterial properties and low toxicity, the prepared BSA + Ag hydrogels highlighted their suitability for future biomedical applications.