Manickam Dakshinamoorthi Balakumaran

Mycosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles: Optimization, characterization and antimicrobial activity against human pathogens

This study was aimed to isolate soil fungi from Kolli and Yercaud Hills, South India with the ultimate objective of producing antimicrobial nanoparticles. Among 65 fungi tested, the isolate, Bios PTK 6 extracellularly synthesized both silver and gold nanoparticles with good monodispersity. Under optimized reaction conditions, the strain Bios PTK 6 identified as Aspergillus terreus has produced extremely stable nanoparticles within 12h. These nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis. spectrophotometer, HR-TEM, FTIR, XRD, EDX, SAED, ICP-AES and Zetasizer analyses. A. terreus synthesized 8-20 nm sized, spherical shaped silver nanoparticles whereas gold nanoparticles showed many interesting morphologies with a size of 10-50 nm. The presence and binding of proteins with nanoparticles was confirmed by FTIR study. Interestingly, the myco derived silver nanoparticles exhibited superior antimicrobial activity than the standard antibiotic, streptomycin except against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The leakage of intracellular components such as protein and nucleic acid demonstrated that silver nanoparticles damage the bacterial cells by formation of pores, which affects membrane permeability and finally leads to cell death. Further, presence of nanoparticles in the bacterial membrane and the breakage of cell wall were also observed using SEM. Thus, the obtained results clearly reveal that these antimicrobial nanoparticles could be explored as promising candidates for a variety of biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

Unprecedented formation of organo-ruthenium(II) complexes containing 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde S-benzyldithiocarbazate: synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, DFT study and their biological activities in vitro

As a contribution to the development of new ruthenium complexes with pharmacologically interesting properties, two new mononuclear ruthenium(II) complexes of the general formula [Ru(H-Nap-sbdtc)Cl(CO)(EPh3)2] (1 & 2) [H-(Nap-sbdtc) = 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde-S-benzyl-dithiocarbazate; E = P or As] were synthesized. The new ruthenium(II) carbonyl complexes are remarkably stable and were obtained in good yields. Their identities have been established by satisfactory elemental analyses and various spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV/visible, (1H, 13C, and 31P) NMR, and ESI-MS). For a better definition, the molecular structure of complexes 1 and 2 has been determined by X-ray crystallography, which confirms the coordination mode of the ligand and reveals a distorted octahedral geometry around the ruthenium ion. The molecular structure of complexes 1 and 2 has been optimized by DFT calculations. The binding affinity and binding mode of the ligand and their ruthenium(II) complexes toward calf thymus CT-DNA were determined by the emission spectral method, the fluorescent indicator displacement (FID) assay and viscosity measurements. Further, the interactions of the ligand and their complexes 1 and 2 with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated using UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopic methods. Absorption and emission spectral studies indicate that complexes 1 and 2 interact with CT-DNA and BSA protein more strongly than their parent ligand. In addition, the interactions of the complexes with DNA/BSA were followed by electrophoretic mobility spectrometry studies and the results show that these complexes exhibited good cleavage properties. In vitro anticancer activity has been scrutinized by the MTT assay, acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) and diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining against the human cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line.

Structural characterization, antioxidant and in vitro cytotoxic properties of seagrass, Cymodocea serrulata (R.Br.) Asch. & Magnus mediated silver nanoparticles

The present study pertains to the synthesis, structural elucidation, antioxidant and in vitro cytotoxic properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from marine angiosperm, Cymodocea serrulata aqueous extract (CSAE). The characterization was made through UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), zeta potential and dynamic light scanning (DLS) analyses. The UV-Vis spectrum resulted in a strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at 430 nm. The average crystalline size of the AgNPs was predicted through XRD peaks that indicated the 2 theta values of 37.84°, 44.06°, 64.42° and 77.74° for Braggs refraction index. The functional groups responsible for the bio-reduction of Ag(+) into Ag(0) were focused through FTIR spectrum. The FESEM images showed that the C. serrulata mediated AgNPs (CS-AgNPs) were spherical in shape. DPPH assay revealed the higher free radical scavenging activity in CS-AgNPs, when compared to CSAE. The cytotoxicity assay on the cervical cancer (HeLa) and African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells upon treatment with CSAE: 107.7 & 124.3 μgml(-1) and CS-AgNPs: 34.5 & 61.24 μgml(-1), respectively showed good inhibition rate. These findings highlight the fact that C. serrulata could be a potential source for developing potent drugs and further studies are needed.

Osteoblast compatibility of minerals substituted hydroxyapatite reinforced poly(sorbitol sebacate adipate) nanocomposites for bone tissue application

The main focus of this investigation is to explore minerals (M) substituted hydroxyapatite (M-HAP) as reinforcing agents to strengthen poly(sorbitol sebacate adipate) (PSSA), a biodegradable polymer for soft and hard tissue applications while not considerably compromising their biocompatibility. PSSA strengthened with different weight percentage of M-HAP nanocomposite was synthesized using a microwave irradiation technique. The functional groups within the nanocomposites were determined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) further showed the interface interaction between the M-HAP and PSSA. The morphological and elemental analysis was obtained from field emission-scanning microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopic analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The addition of M-HAP greatly increased the mechanical, thermal properties and improved the protein adsorption ability. In vitro bioactivity in simulated body fluid (SBF) experiment and human osteosarcoma MG63 (HOS MG63) cells proliferated on the M-HAP/PSSA shows that the nanocomposite has sensible cell biocompatibility. All these observations suggest that the M-HAP/PSSA nanocomposites will be promising biomaterials for bone tissue engineering applications.

Phytogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles, optimization and evaluation of in vitro antifungal activity against human and plant pathogens.

An attempt was made to synthesis of biocompatible silver nanoparticles from ten different Cassia spp. Among them, Cassia roxburghii aqueous leaf extract supported the synthesis of highly efficient and stable AgNPs. The synthesis of AgNPs was optimized at different physico-chemical condition and highly stable AgNPs were synthesized with 1.0mL of C. roxburghii leaf extract, pH 7.0, 1.0mM AgNO3 and at 37°C. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by XPS, DLS and ZETA potential. DLS and ZETA potential analysis, the average AgNPs size was 35nm and the zeta potential was -18.3mV. The AgNPs exhibit higher antifungal activity when compared with the conventional antifungal drug amphotericin B against all the tested human fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp., Candida albicans and the plant pathogens such as Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Curvularia sp. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed distinct structural changes in the cell membranes of C. albicans upon AgNPs treatment. These results suggest that phytosynthesized AgNPs could be used as effective growth inhibitors in controlling various human and plant diseases caused by fungi.

Phytosynthesized gold nanoparticles from C. roxburghii DC. leaf and their toxic effects on normal and cancer cell lines

Gold nanoparticles are considered of great importance compared to other noble metal nanoparticles and its wide range of applications like pharmaceutics, therapeutics and diagnostics etc. During the past decade, phytosynthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are more focused in in vitro and in vivo study. The present study was focused on the gold chloride and phytosynthesized gold nanoparticles from aqueous leaf extract of Cassia roxburghii and their toxic effects on African green monkey normal kidney Vero cell line and three different cancer cell lines such as HepG2, MCF7 and HeLa. Phytosynthesized AuNPs were characterized by HRTEM, EDX, XRD and FTIR analysis. The particles size range of 25-35nm was confirmed by HRTEM. The elemental gold and the crystalline nature of AuNPs were confirmed by EDX and XRD, respectively. The reduction of functional groups was confirmed by FTIR. In in vitro study, the IC50 of HepG2 cells was found to be 30μg/ml compared to other cell lines, HeLa and MCF7 cell line showing IC50 of 50μg/ml and normal Vero cell line also nontoxic up to 75μg/ml confirmed by MTT assay. Further, apoptosis in HepG2 was analyzed by fluorescence microscope and DNA fragmentation was observed in HepG2 treated cells. These results suggested that phytosynthesized AuNPs of C. roxburghii extract clearly limited toxic on normal cells but toxic in cancer cells.

Nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes constructed with N2S2 hybrid benzamidine–thiosemicarbazone ligand: synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, DFT, kinetico-catalytic and in vitro biological applications

With the aim of assessing whether transition metal complexes might be utilized as efficient biocatalysts and biological drugs, new monofunctional nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of types NiL (1) and CuL (2) [H2L = N-(N′,N′-diethylaminothiocarbonyl)benzimidoyl chloride-2-aminoacetophenone-N-methylthiosemicarbazone] were synthesized. The compounds are remarkably stable and were obtained in good yields. Structural elucidation was carried out thoroughly in solid and solution-states by elemental analysis and various spectroscopy techniques (IR, UV-vis, 1H NMR, and EPR) as well as ESI mass spectrometry. The molecular structure of the compounds was investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The analyses showed tetradentate coordination of the ligand in nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes, in which the metal atom exhibits a square planar geometry with N2S2 in a donor fashion. Structural optimization, HOMO–LUMO energy calculations and Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis of H2L and its complexes (1 and 2) were investigated by Density Functional Theory (DFT). The trend in binding affinities of the compounds with biomolecules, such as calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein, were investigated by different spectrophotometric methods, which revealed an intercalative mode of interaction. Furthermore, enzyme kinetic studies reflected that the square planar complexes (1 and 2) are also effective in mimicking catecholase (3,5-DTBC) and phosphatase (4-NPP) activities over the parent H2L. The high kcat values suggested that the selected compounds displayed a high rate of catalytic efficiency. In vitro cytotoxicity of the complexes on human skin cancer melanoma (A375), human cervical cancer (HeLa) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B) cancer cell lines demonstrated that the complexes had a broad-spectrum of anti-cancer activity with low IC50 values. The morphological assessment data obtained by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) and diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining revealed that complex 2 induces apoptosis much more effectively than 1.