Facile synthesis of mPEG-luteolin-capped silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity to neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells.

We firstly report a facile route for the green synthesis of mPEG-luteolin-capped silver nanoparticles (mPEG-luteolin-AgNPs) using mPEG-luteolin as both the reducer and stabilizer. The reaction was carried out in a stirred aqueous solution at 50°C without additional poisonous reagents. The prepared mPEG-luteolin-AgNPs was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), zeta potential and UV-vis (UV-vis) spectrum, respectively. The proportions of mPEG-luteolin capped silver nanoparticles is about 89.9%, and the content of silver is 6.65%. The mPEG-luteolin-AgNPs was evaluated the antimicrobial effects on Staphlococcus aureus, Extended spectrum β-Lactamases Staphlococcus aureus, Escherichia Coli and Extended spectrum β-Lactamases Escherichia Coli using drilling hole method. The results showed that both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were killed by the mPEG-luteolin-AgNPs at low concentration. Meanwhile, the cell viability assay demonstrated that mPEG-luteolin-AgNPs had toxic effects on human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells.