Terrestrial snail-mucus mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and in vitro investigations on their antimicrobial and anticancer activities

Abstract

Over the past few years, biogenic methods for designing silver nanocomposites are in limelight due to their ability to generate semi-healthcare and para-pharmaceutical consumer goods. The present study reports the eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles from the hitherto unexplored mucus of territorial snail Achatina fulica by the facile, clean and easily scalable method. The detailed characterization of the resultant samples by UV–Visible Spectroscopy, FESEM-EDS, XRD and FTIR Spectroscopy techniques corroborated the formation of silver nanoparticles in snail mucus matrix. The resultant samples were tested against a broad range of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria like Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a fungal strain Aspergillus fumigatus by well diffusion method. The results indicate that silver nanoparticles in mucus matrix exhibit strong antibacterial as well as antifungal activity. The pertinent experiments were also performed to determine the inhibitory concentration against both bacterial and fungal strains. Anticancer activity was executed by in vitro method using cervical cancer cell lines. Curiously, our biogenically synthesized Ag nanoparticles in biocompatible mucus revealed anticancer activity and demonstrated more than 15% inhibition of Hela cells. We suggest an interesting possibility of formulating antimicrobial and possibly anticancer creams/gels for topical applications in skin ailments.

Effectiveness of Snail Slime in the Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles

“…These results evidenced that snail slime alone is able to promote the formation and stabilization of silver nanoparticles, without the the need of additional reducing or stabilizing agents as previously reported in literature [26]. These findings further support the employment of snail slime in green and sustainable processes.…”

“…Snail slime is a mixture of active compounds such as proteins, glycoproteins, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), fatty acids, polyphenols, vitamins, glycolic acid, allantoin, minerals [22][23][24] and carbohydrates [25]. The peculiar composition of snail slime has stimulated several studies, putting into evidence its beneficial effects in different pathologies [22,26]. Proteins contained in snail slime have been successfully used for the reduction of HAuCl 4 to gold nanoparticles, exhibiting wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties [14,26].…”

“…The peculiar composition of snail slime has stimulated several studies, putting into evidence its beneficial effects in different pathologies [22,26]. Proteins contained in snail slime have been successfully used for the reduction of HAuCl 4 to gold nanoparticles, exhibiting wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties [14,26]. Recently, composites AgNPs have been prepared mixing silver nitrate with diluted snail mucus and using ascorbic acid as reducing agent and polyvinyl pyrrolidone as stabilizer and their antimicrobial and anticancer activities have been assessed [26].…”

Silver/Snail Mucous PVA Nanofibers: Electrospun Synthesis and Antibacterial and Wound Healing Activities

“…The synthesized silver nanoparticles in the snail-mucus matrix (the resultant composite form) were termed as AgNPs-SM. The formed nanoparticles were collected by centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for 20 min then washed with distilled water and lyophilized for further analyses [ 13 ].…”

A Novel Green Preparation of Ag/RGO Nanocomposites with Highly Effective Anticancer Performance

“…Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), as one of the noble metals, possess unique physicochemical properties, including high thermal and electrical conductivity, high catalytic activity, good chemical stability, and surface-enhanced plasmon resonance effects [ 1 , 2 ]. Ag NPs also display excellent biological activities, e.g., broad-spectrum antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Additionally, due to their great optical properties, Ag NPs have also been used in electronics, catalysis, and biosensors [ 6 ].…”