Effect of Polyvinylpyrrolidone on Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity of Silver Metal Nanoparticles: A Comparative Analysis

Nanotechnology research has advanced in the past two decades because of its tunable physicochemical properties. Among the wide range of metal-based nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have gained intense research prominence because of their peerless features such as excellent electrical conductivity, catalysis, and a broad range of promising bioactivities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. In attaining the colloidal stability of silver nanoparticles, capping plays an important role. These capping compounds are believed to provide dual functionality in the synthesis process, acting both as structure-directing and stabilizing agents. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is a biocompatible, pH-stable, inert, non-toxic, temperature-resistant, and biodegradable polymer. In the present study, PVP capped silver nanoparticles are synthesized using glucose as a reducing agent, and studied the influence of PVP concentration on silver nanoparticles. Three different ratios of silver nitrate and PVP (1:1, 1:1.5, and 1:2) are taken for silver nanoparticle synthesis. Further, silver nanoparticles obtained are subjected to a series of examinations, including UV Spectrophotometry, SEM, X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, and FTIR. The PVP capped silver nanoparticles are spherical, non-aggregated, polydisperse, and had a unimodal distribution, with diameters ranging from 40 to 100 nm. PVP capped silver nanoparticles are then subjected to antioxidant and antimicrobial activity investigation by spectrometry and agar well diffusion method respectively. The DPPH and the ABTS study revealed the radical scavenging activity of AgNPs. However, the PVP-capped silver nanoparticles did not show any antibacterial activity. This study showed the possibility of the application of PVP-capped AgNPs in the treatment of free radical-related diseases.