Synthesis of PVA Encapsulated Silver Nanoparticles as a Drug Delivery System for Doxorubicin and Curcumin

Abstract

: Silver nanoparticles, of great significance in drug delivery, are unstable due to agglomeration. To address this problem, we examined the effectiveness of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a cheap, environmentally-friendly biomaterial in stabilizing and increasing the efficiency of drug-loaded silver nanoparticles. In this study, we have successfully synthesized in situ PVA-coated nanoparticles with a particle size of 70.1 nm measured by DLS and 46.7nm measured using SEM by chemical reduction method using silver nitrate (AgNO3), sodium borohydride (NaBH4), and PVA. Drug loading efficiency of AgNPs-PVA reached 91.95% for Doxorubicin and 99.24% for Curcumin, which is higher than the drug loading efficiency of uncoated silver nanoparticles. Additionally, we have determined the antibacterial activity of AgNPs-PVA and AgNPs-PVA-Cur on strains of gram (+) Bacillus cereus and gram (-) E. coli and a concentration of 5 ppm and above yield zones of inhibition greater than 10 mm in diameter. Given time and additional equipment, we hope to conduct further studies that examine the anticancer properties of AgNPs-PVA-Dox on cancer cells and the burn treatment applications of AgNPs-PVA-Cur on mice.