Tannin-Capped Silver Nanoparticles: Mechanistic Insight on Biocidal Activities for Leather Processing

The present study focusses on the bactericidal activity of nano-silver particles synthesized using wattle and quebracho as reducing agents. The formation of wattle-mediated nanoparticles (NW) and quebracho-mediated nanoparticles (NQ) have been structurally and morphologically confirmed using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Bactericidal activity of NW and NQ showed 13 mm and 9 mm inhibition for E. coli and 19 mm and 18 mm for B. cerus. Molecular simulations are performed to identify the spatial positions of NQ responsible for its interaction with E. coli 5i5H. 5i5H possess 572 residues, which are subjected to docking with NQ ligand. GLN, HIS, ARG, LEU, PRO and VAL have been found to involve in hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions with NQ. The stable structure of 5i5H-NQ complex after complete folding has been achieved with minimized energy (-2413 Kcal/Mol). The unfolding of receptor protein with NQ after docking simulations confirmed the inhibition of microbial growth of E. coli.