Biocompatible and ecofriendly selenium nanoparticles in diabetes and wound healing

Abstract

The present study reports the synthesis of Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) through an eco-friendly method using guava leaf extract for their application in diabetes and wound healing. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, and Dynamic light scattering. TEM revealed the spherical morphology of Se-NPs and a size range of 2–5 nm. The Se-NPs inhibit carbohydrate digestive enzymes (alpha-amylase and glucosidase), which are key in managing intestinal glucose absorption. These Se-NPs exhibit IC50 values of 15 µg mL⁻¹ for α-amylase and 21 µg mL⁻¹ for α-glucosidase. These nanoparticles effectively adsorb glucose, and adsorption increases with an increase in glucose concentration. 10 mg mL⁻¹ of nanoparticles can adsorb as low as 5 mmol of glucose. The study also explored Se-NPs' ability to enhance glucose uptake by human RBCs (hRBCs), akin to insulin mechanisms. At a concentration of 20 µg mL⁻¹ of both Se-NPs and acarbose, glucose uptake by hRBCs is 83 %, which is higher than that of the standard drug acarbose (62 %). Additionally, cytotoxicity assays on human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) demonstrated that Se-NPs have an IC50 value of 25 µg mL^−1, which shows much lower toxicity compared to sodium selenite salt (3.6 µg mL⁻¹). Further, the biocompatibility of Se-NPs was studied by measuring mitochondrial ROS, membrane potential, and cellular proliferation. In vitro wound healing assays indicated that at 15 µg mL⁻¹ of Se-NPs, around 100 % of wound closure was achieved after 15 h, whereas the control without nanoparticles showed only 37 % wound closure. Overall, this research underscores the multifaceted biomedical applications of Se-NPs synthesized via guava leaf extract, suggesting promising avenues for future therapeutic development.