Silver–Gold Alloy Nanoparticles (AgAu NPs): Photochemical Synthesis of Novel Biocompatible, Bimetallic Alloy Nanoparticles and Study of Their In Vitro Peroxidase Nanozyme Activity

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 17; p. 2471
• Main Authors: Kshirsagar, Prakash G, De Matteis, Valeria, Pal, Sudipto, Sangaru, Shiv Shankar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Ablation; Alloys; Analysis; Aqueous solutions; Bimetals; Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; Catalysis; Cell viability; Chemical properties; Chemical synthesis; Chromatography; Cytotoxicity; Drug delivery systems; Fuel cells; Gold; Gold alloys; gold silver bimetallic alloy; Green chemistry; Lasers; Mechanical properties; Methods; Nanoalloys; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; nanozyme; Optical properties; Peroxidase; Photochemicals; photoreduction; Physicochemical properties; Reagents; Silicon wafers; Silver; Silver alloys; Silver base alloys; silver nanoparticles; Stability analysis; Surface properties; Synthesis; Toxicity; Tumor cell lines; Tyrosine; Germany
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano13172471

Facile synthesis of metal nanoparticles with controlled physicochemical properties using environment-friendly reagents can open new avenues in biomedical applications. Nanomaterials with controlled physicochemical properties have opened new prospects for a variety of applications. In the present study, we report a single-step photochemical synthesis of ~5 nm-sized silver (Ag) and gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs), and Ag–Au alloy nanoparticles using L-tyrosine. The physicochemical and surface properties of both monometallic and bimetallic NPs were investigated by analytical, spectroscopic, and microscopic techniques. Our results also displayed an interaction between L-tyrosine and surface atoms that leads to the formation of AgAu NPs by preventing the growth and aggregation of the NPs. This method efficiently produced monodispersed NPs, with a narrow-sized distribution and good stability in an aqueous solution. The cytotoxicity assessment performed on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) revealed that the biofriendly L-tyrosine-capped AgNPs, AuNPs, and bimetallic AgAu NPs were biocompatible. Interestingly, AgAu NPs have also unveiled controlled cytotoxicity, cell viability, and in vitro peroxidase nanozyme activity reliant on metal composition and surface coating.