Synthesis, Characterizations, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Applications of Silver-incorporated Pectin-based Nanogel

Abstract

A multipart approach was used to prepare composites of pectin-grafted-acrylamide (AgPAm) copolymer nanogel (Ngl) with silver incorporation. The characterization of the synthesized nanogel was subjected to studies, including FT-IR, XRD, and DSC analyses, as well as a swelling study to get evidence for successful synthesis and determine the end uses. The XRD evaluation showed a prominent peak for silver metal, emphasizing the successful synthesis. The FTIR analysis confirmed the crosslinking in the nanogel, while DSC was used to measure the changes in physical properties along with time over temperature.

The silver-incorporated nanogel was thereafter subjected to antimicrobial studies. Antibacterial analyses carried out against two different bacteria, i.e., gram negative and gram positive, showed a desirable inhibition zone of silver-incorporated nanogel, with a positive control (azithromycin, a known antibiotic) observed in this bacterial activity. The antioxidant assay showed that AgPAm inhibited free radical formation by up to 82%.