Sericin-Assisted Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles as Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial and Biofilm-Disrupting Agents for Therapy of Bacterial Infection

作者：Rui Cai, Qian Cheng, Jiayu Zhao, Peirong Zhou, Zhaodan Wu, Xuemin Ma, Yajuan Hu, Huiyue Wang, Xiaorong Lan, Jing Zhou, Gang Tao · 发表于：International Journal of Nanomedicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.2147/ijn.s494616 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Silk-based biomaterials and applications、Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications、Graphene and Nanomaterials Applications

Background: Tens of millions of people die from wound infections globally each year, and nearly 80% of tissue infections are associated with bacterial biofilms. However, overuse of antibiotics can lead to bacterial resistance. Therefore, it is critical to develop simple and effective strategies to kill bacteria and remove biofilms. Methods: The present study used sericin as a reducing and stabilizing agent to synthesize sericin-gold nanoparticles (Ser-Au NPs) and tested its colloidal stability under different pH and salt concentration conditions. Subsequently, functional gold nanocomposites (Ser-Au@MMI) were synthesized by combining Ser-Au NPs with 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (MMI). The antimicrobial effect of Ser-Au@MMI was checked by MIC, antimicrobial activity test, and in vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using CCK-8 assay. In vitro anti-biofilm effect was observed by fluorescence microscopy and SEM. Finally, the anti-infective therapeutic efficacy of Ser-Au@MMI was determined in an in vivo rat-infected wound model. Results: Sericin as a reducing and stabilizing agent to synthesize Ser-Au NPs exhibited excellent colloidal stability under different pH and salt concentration conditions. The TEM, EDS, and XPS analyses confirmed the successful synthesis of Ser-Au@MMI. It exhibited higher antibacterial activity due to the synergistic effect of MMI and AuNP, which can achieve a bactericidal effect by destroying the integrity of bacterial cell walls and structure. In addition, Se...