Antibacterial activity of biogenic silver nanoparticles synthesized with gum ghatti and gum olibanum: a comparative study

Presently, silver nanoparticles produced by biological methods have received considerable significance owing to the natural abundance of renewable, cost-effective and biodegradable materials, thus implementing the green chemistry principles. Compared with the nanoparticles synthesized using chemical methods, most biogenic silver nanoparticles are protein capped, which imparts stability and biocompatibility, and enhanced antibacterial activity. In this study, we compared the antibacterial effect of two biogenic silver nanoparticles produced with natural plant gums: gum ghatti and gum olibanum against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Bacterial interaction with nanoparticles was probed both in planktonic and biofilm modes of growth; employing solid agar and liquid broth assays for inhibition zone, antibiofilm activity, inhibition of growth kinetics, leakage of intracellular contents, membrane permeabilization and reactive oxygen species production. In addition, cytotoxicity of the biogenic nanoparticles was evaluated in HeLa cells, a human carcinoma cell line. Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of the silver nanoparticles synthesized with gum ghatti (Ag NP-GT) was greater than that produced with gum olibanum (Ag NP-OB). This could be attributed to the smaller size (5.7 nm), monodispersity and zeta potential of the Ag NP-GT. The study suggests that Ag NP-GT can be employed as a cytotoxic bactericidal agent, whereas Ag NP-OB (7.5 nm) as a biocompatible bactericidal agent.