Silver nanoparticles @ titanate nanotubes composite: Synthesis, characterization, applications and docking

This work is devoted to the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the inner walls of titanate nanotubes (Ag/TNTs) by two synthetic approaches. First, a suspension of silver nitrate and pre-synthesized TNTs is expose to UV irradiation; the mixture is evaporating until dry, thereafter the dry precursor is heat at 100 ?degrees C (Ag/TNTs-100). Latter sample, a pre-calcination of TNTs at 400 ?degrees C is carried out before being used as a host material for UV-initiated photoreduction of silver nitrate (Ag/TNTs-P400). The successful formation of Ag/TNTs nanocomposites was examined using HRTEM, XRD, UV-vis, FT-IR spectroscopy and N-2 adsorption measurements. The latter (Ag/TNTs-P400) induced a facile synthesis of AgNPs in the inner open-end walls of TNTs than the former (Ag/TNTs-100), as evidenced by the HRTEM results. Further, the XRD pattern of Ag/TNTs-P400 revealed the transformation of the layered structure of TNTs into three-dimensional TiO2 NTs with the calcination process. Ag/TNTs-P400 exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation of MB than the rest. In vitro cytotoxic activity of TNTs and Ag/TNTs against the tested breast cancer cell lines showed that Ag/TNTs-P400 (IC50 = 8.58 mu g/mL) maintained the highest anti-cancer activity compared to other samples. The geometry optimization was done using DFT with B3LYP/6-311G* level. The docking study suggested that both TNTs-400 and Ag/TNTs-P400 have good inhibitor affinities against different bacterial kinase active sites.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles in the inner walls of titanate nanotubes through two different approaches. The results show that exposing a suspension of silver nitrate and pre-synthesized nanotubes to UV irradiation, followed by drying and heating, successfully leads to the synthesis of silver nanoparticles on the inner walls of the nanotubes. One of the approaches also involves calcinating the nanotubes, resulting in a transformation from a layered structure to a three-dimensional structure. Additionally, the synthesized silver nanoparticles exhibit high inhibitory effects on cancer cells and demonstrate excellent photocatalytic activity.