Study Shows Silver Nanoparticles Attach to HIV-1 virus In the
first-ever study of metal nanoparticles' interaction with HIV-1,
silver nanoparticles of sizes 1-10nm attached to HIV-1 and
prevented the virus from bonding to host cells. The study,
published in the Journal of Nanotechnology, was a joint project
between the University of Texas, Austin and Mexico Univeristy,
Nuevo Leon. "Our article opens an important avenue for
research," said Miguel Jose Yacaman, from University of Texas,
Department of Engineering and one of the study's authors. In
this study, scientists mixed silver nanoparticles with three
different capping agents: foamy carbon, poly (PVP), and bovine
serum albumin (BSA)."Not using a capping agent could result in
the synthesis of big crystals instead of nanocrystals,"
explained Yacaman. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed
the silver nanoparticles in the foamy carbon matrix were joined
together, but an ultrasonic bath in deionized water released a
significant number of nanoparticles. T