SILVER NANOPARTICLES/GELATIN NANOCOMPOSITES: NEW APROACH TO OVERCOME ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

GALDOPÓRPORA J. M.; TUTTOLOMONDO, M. V.; DESIMONE M. F.

Congreso; Reunión conjunta de sociedades de biociencias; 2017

The main objective of this study is to develop an economical and biocompatible biomaterial with antimicrobial activity for tissue engineering applications. The nanocomposites were obtained employing gelatin as biopolymer scaffold and silver nanoparticles as a wide spectrum antimicrobial agent. Water and glycerol have been used as solvents for the gelatin hydrogel synthesis. This solvents mixture led to a biomaterial with improved thermal properties. Indeed, an increase in the melting point of the gelatin polymer of 46°C was observed by using glycerol and water, therefore, a material with excellent rheological properties has been made.Nowadays, multiple drug resistance has developed due to the use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly employed in the treatment of infectious diseases. Silver nanoparticles have been studied as an antimicrobial agent as an alternative to antibiotics. The release of silver was analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The maximum release of silver was reached at 12 hours showing good performance of the nanocomposite as a metal ion and silver nanoparticle delivery system. The antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa was tested, showing a decrease in bacterial growth higher than 99,99%. In conclusion, a AgNp/gelatin nanocomposite, with good rheological and improved thermal properties and silver nanoparticles as a source of silver ions has been synthesized. These properties of the nanocomposite with controlled silver delivery result in a more efficient topical pharmaceutical form for wound healing applications.