Bactericidal and antivirulence potential of sulphate-functionalized nanocellulose extracted from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn
Monica K J Nidhi, Harsha Nagaraja, Hanumantagouda Basavanagoudra, Kotresh M Goudar, B. Uma Reddy
Abstract
ABSTRACT This study explores the bactericidal and antivirulence potential of sulphate-functionalized nanocellulose (S-NC) extracted from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. by acid hydrolysis method. Physico-chemical characterization of S-NC revealed high crystallinity of 74.83% by XRD, an aspect ratio of 6.53 by TEM, a helical and fibrous morphology with agglomeration by FE-SEM, an optical energy band gap of 4.25eV by UV-Vis, and a zeta potential of -39.9mV. Further, the S-NC were screened for bactericidal activities, which exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus , and Escherichia coli, by effectively disrupting biofilm formation. It also demonstrated significant antivirulence property by inhibiting quorum sensing elements like Pyocyanin (68.58%), Pyoverdine (70.33%), and Staphyloxanthin (67.90%) from the Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus . Additionally, the S-NC showed excellent hemocompatibility with human red blood cells and a promising antioxidant property (82.45%). These findings for the first time suggest the use of S-NC as a potential antimicrobial, antivirulence, and antioxidant agent with bio-compatibility.