Plant-mediated fabrication of Ag/TiO₂ bimetallic nanoparticles with anti-diabetic and anti-Inflammatory activities: Computational and experimental investigation

Abstract

Globally, diabetes affects 589 million people and is a severe health epidemic, especially in regions where its incidence remains rising. The main challenge is the increase in diabetic complications and antibiotic resistance linked to conventional treatments. Bi-metallic nanoparticles offer greater multifunctional advantages than single-metal nanoparticles, including enhanced stability and efficacy. Ag/TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized using leaf and floral extracts of Couroupita guianensis . The study investigates Ag/TiO₂ bimetallic nanoparticles using computational modeling and plant-mediated fabrication, providing both in silico and experimental perspectives on their molecular interactions and biological activities. Molecular docking identified β-Amyrin palmitate (-8.1 kcal/mol) and Farnesol (-6.6 kcal/mol) as potential α-amylase inhibitors, with molecular dynamics confirming stable interactions. TEM showed well-dispersed spherical nanoparticles: leaf-mediated (10–100 nm) and flower-mediated (10–95 nm), indicating efficient phytochemical-assisted synthesis. XRD confirmed crystalline Ag/TiO₂ with anatase and rutile phases, while FTIR and zeta potential analyses identified phytochemical groups ensuring stability. Antioxidant assays showed notable radical scavenging, with flower-mediated nanoparticles exhibiting slightly higher activity. Antibacterial studies revealed measurable inhibition zones for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , with comparable performance between leaf and flower-mediated nanoparticles. In α-amylase inhibition assays, flower-mediated nanoparticles achieved 56.87% inhibition at 100 µg/mL versus 50.92% for leaf-mediated ones. At 10 µg/mL, leaf-mediated Ag/TiO₂ showed higher anti-inflammatory efficacy (73.61%) than flower-mediated (71.61%). These findings suggested that C. guianensis -mediated Ag/TiO₂ nanoparticles are multifunctional nanomaterials that exhibit diverse biological activity.