Antibacterial activity and in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of alginate-AgNP fibers

Biopolymer nanocomposites containing metal nanoparticles have attracted much attention due to their excellent properties and broad applications. In this work, alginate fibers embedded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared. The as-obtained alginate-AgNP fibers exhibited antibacterial activity against both Gram microorganisms of model microbes Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive). A growth kinetic study with S. aureus and E. coli displayed the inhibition of bacterial growth at the logarithmic phase. The cytotoxic effect of the fibers in human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells was assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry. The as-prepared alginate-AgNP fibers, particularly with high amount and long treatment time, showed high cell-killing efficiency. These findings emphasize that such alginate-AgNP fibers with multifaceted biological activities are a promising material for applications in the textile or biomedical fields.