Wounds serve as an appropriate medium for the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and bacterial resistance to already available antibiotics demands new and safe approaches in the field of medicine. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibited a wide range of applications in biomedicine and emerged as promising nano-antibiotics. The biological preparation of AgNPs by utilizing aqueous plant extract has become an encouraging alternative to traditional chemical methodologies, owing to a viable eco-friendly approach. In the present study, Lepidium didymum leaves extract was used for the biosynthesis of AgNPs-LD. The nanoparticles were characterized through UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The antibacterial activity of AgNPs-LD was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Further, AgNPs-LD nanoparticles were incorporated into topical gels to evaluate their effectiveness for wound healing in the rat model. UV-visible spectra showed a surface resonance peak around 400 nm correlated with the synthesis of AgNPs; FTIR spectra verified the participation of phytochemicals present in L. didymum leaves extract in AgNPs-LD synthesis; and SEM revealed dispersed spherical nanoparticles as well as aggregated clusters. XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature, face-centered cubic lattice, and average crystallite size of 21.42 nm. The AgNPs-LD showed promising antibacterial activity against tested strains with a maximum zone of inhibition against P. aeruginosa and showed accelerated wound healing capacity comparable to control and standard treatments over the time course of wound healing. The current study concluded that biosynthesized AgNPs-LD nanoparticles are effective as antibacterial agents and are promising novel wound healing products for clinical applications.
Keywords: antibacterial efficacy; green synthesis; silver nanoparticles; topical gel; wound healing.