Ag nanomaterials are promising candidates for the discovery of next-generation antibiotics with a high antibacterial effect against multi-drug resistant strains. This paper reports a simple synthesis of novel water-soluble glutathione-capped silver nanoclusters (GSH-Ag NCs) with an enhanced antibacterial activity. According to thin layer chromatography (TLC), the synthesized GSH-Ag NCs are an individual fraction of the same composition without any impurities. According to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses, the silver core of the GSH-Ag NCs contains approximately 35 silver atoms, and the molecular weight of these nanoclusters is about 11 kDa. The fabricated silver nanoclusters have a reddish fluorescence (λex/λem = 509/645 nm), with a large Stokes shift (>130 nm), and ultra-small size (less than 2 nm) according to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. The antibacterial activity and minimal inhibitory concentrations of the silver nanoclusters towards Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Enterobacter cloacae were evaluated using the agar well-diffusion method and resazurin metabolism assay. The antibacterial activity of chelated silver in the nanoclusters was found to be significantly higher compared to the activity of free silver ions. To explain the possible mechanisms underlying the antibacterial actions of the GSH-Ag nanoclusters, molecular docking was performed, and prospective bacterial targets were identified using AutoDock.
Keywords: Ag nanoclusters; antibacterial activity; fluorescence; molecular docking.