Study Shows Silver Nanoparticles Attach to HIV-1 virus

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Study Shows Silver Nanoparticles Attach to HIV-1 virus

Nanotechnology

In the first-ever study of metal nanoparticles' interaction with HIV-1, silver nanoparticles of sizes 1-10nm attached to HIV-1 and prevented the virus from bonding to host cells. The study, published in the Journal of Nanotechnology, was a joint project between the University of Texas, Austin and Mexico Univeristy, Nuevo Leon.

"Our article opens an important avenue for research," said Miguel Jose Yacaman, from University of Texas, Department of Engineering and one of the study's authors.

In this study, scientists mixed silver nanoparticles with three different capping agents: foamy carbon, poly (PVP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA)."Not using a capping agent could result in the synthesis of big crystals instead of nanocrystals," explained Yacaman.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the silver nanoparticles in the foamy carbon matrix were joined together, but an ultrasonic bath in deionized water released a significant number of nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were of size 16.19 (+-8.69)nm and had the greatest variety of shapes, such as icosahedral, decahedral, and elongated.

"Because of the synthesis procedure, the foamy carbon-coated naoparticles are more likely to have broad shape distribution," said Yacaman. Scientists used the electron beam to release the remainder of the nanoparticles from the joined bundle.

For the PVP-coated silver nanoparticles, scientists used glycerine as a dissolving agent. These particles were of size 6.53 (+-2.41). In the third preparation, scientists used serum albumin, the most common protein in blood plasma. The sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen chemicals in BSA stabilized the nanoparticles, which were in the range of 3.12 (+-2.00) nm. Tweet