Research

Mode of antiviral action of silver nanoparticles against HIV-1

Humberto H Lara^*, Nilda V Ayala-Nuñez, Liliana Ixtepan-Turrent and Cristina Rodriguez-Padilla

• * Corresponding author: Humberto H Lara dr.lara.v@gmail.com

Author Affiliations

Laboratorio de Inmunología y Virología, Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico

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Journal of Nanobiotechnology 2010, 8:1 doi:10.1186/1477-3155-8-1

Published: 20 January 2010

Abstract

Background

Silver nanoparticles have proven to exert antiviral activity against HIV-1 at non-cytotoxic concentrations, but the mechanism underlying their HIV-inhibitory activity has not been not fully elucidated. In this study, silver nanoparticles are evaluated to elucidate their mode of antiviral action against HIV-1 using a panel of different in vitro assays.

Results

Our data suggest that silver nanoparticles exert anti-HIV activity at an early stage of viral replication, most likely as a virucidal agent or as an inhibitor of viral entry. Silver nanoparticles bind to gp120 in a manner that prevents CD4-dependent virion binding, fusion, and infectivity, acting as an effective virucidal agent against cell-free virus (laboratory strains, clinical isolates, T and M tropic strains, and resistant strains) and cell-associated virus. Besides, silver nanoparticles inhibit post-entry stages of the HIV-1 life cycle.

Conclusions

These properties make them a broad-spectrum agent not prone to inducing resistance that could be used preventively against a wide variety of circulating HIV-1 strains.