Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have been among the most commonly used nano-materials in our health care system, widely used in a range of biomedical applications, including diagnosis, treatment, drug delivery, medical device coating and for personal health care. Ag-NPs present unique physicochemical properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity. In this matter, bionanocomposites materials, formed by the combination of natural polymers and inorganic components, like hybrid Ag-NPs, represents an important stake in scientific research offering the combined properties inherent to the natural biopolymers and inorganic nanoparticles. Meanwhile, hyaluronic acid (HA), an immunoneutral polysaccharide ubiquitously present in the human body, is an attractive starting materials since can be chemically modified through its reactive functional groups and transformed into many physical forms (viscoelastic solutions, soft or stiff hydrogels or even nanoparticulate fluids) as a biocompatible platform for a wide range of biomedical applications. Multifunctional hydrogels were enzymatically generated by the crosslinking reaction between silver lignin nanoparticles (Ag-Lig NPs) and thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA-SH). First, Ag-lig NPs were synthesized using a green, eco-friendly procedure from aqueous AgNO3 solution with lignin, one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature, serving as a dual reducing and capping agent. Afterwards, the multiple functional groups present in lignin, mainly phenolic hydroxyls, serve as reactive groups to crosslink with thiol groups from HA by the action of the enzyme laccase. The morphology, swelling properties, and rheological characteristics of the performed HA hydrogels with embedded Ag-lig NPs together with their stability, control over MMP and MPO and cellular ROS scavenging were investigated. Finally, the potential toxicology, the silver release from the hydrogel matrix, the anti-inflammatory effect and the antibacterial activity in front of different bacterial stains were addressed to explore their potential biomedical applications.

Multifunctional hyaluronic acid based hydrogel with enzymatically embedded silver/lignin nanoparticles

255th National Meeting (2018)

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