Hyaluronan- and heparin-reduced silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial properties

Aims: Silver nanoparticles exhibit unique antibacterial properties that make these ideal candidates for biological and medical applications. We utilized a clean method involving a single synthetic step to prepare silver nanoparticles that exhibit antimicrobial activity. Materials & methods: These nanoparticles were prepared by reducing silver nitrate with diaminopyridinylated heparin (DAPHP) and hyaluronan (HA) polysaccharides and tested for their efficacy in inhibiting microbial growth. Results & discussion: The resulting silver nanoparticles exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and modest activity against Escherichia coli. Silver-HA showed greater antimicrobial activity than silver-DAPHP, while silver-glucose nanoparticles exhibited very weak antimicrobial activity. Neither HA nor DAPHP showed activity against S. aureus or E. coli. Conclusion: These results suggest that DAPHP and HA silver nanoparticles have potential in antimicrobial therapeutic applications.