National Pukyong University University-Focused Research Institute, Seaweed Anti-Cancer and Antibacterial Research 'In Focus'

Synthesis of Functional Silver Nanoparticles Using Seaweed-Derived Substances
Demonstrating Anticancer and Antibacterial Effects
Published in a Prestigious International Journal

The research team at the Marine Bionics Convergence Technology Center (Director Jeong Won-kyo), a university-focused research institute at Pukyong National University, has attracted attention by synthesizing silver nanoparticles from seaweed-derived substances and demonstrating their anticancer and antibacterial functions.

Research team from the University Focused Research Institute (from left: Kim Nam-gyun, Jeong Won-gyo, Kim Young-mok, Oh Do-kyung). Provided by Pukyong National University.

The research team synthesized functional silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using phlorotannin, a polyphenolic compound isolated from the brown algae species Phaeophyceae, and presented research results on the synthesis mechanism through optimized synthesis processes, anticancer and antibacterial activity evaluations, and molecular dynamics simulations.

The silver nanoparticles successfully produced through the optimized synthesis process showed excellent anticancer and antibacterial efficacy in experiments conducted by the research team. The team performed molecular dynamics simulations to predict the synthesis process of phlorotannin and silver nanoparticles at the molecular level and elucidated the nanoparticle formation process and pH-dependent molecular behavior.

The research team included first author Namkyun Kim, a doctoral student in the Department of Convergence Bioengineering for the 4th Industrial Revolution; corresponding author Professor Jeong Won-kyo (Department of Biomedical Engineering); co-authors Professor Myung-ki Lee (Department of Biomedical Engineering), senior undergraduate student Hyewon Lee (Department of Biomedical Engineering), master's student Hadi Sedigh Malekroodi (Department of Convergence Bioengineering for the 4th Industrial Revolution), Professor Youngmok Kim (Department of Food Engineering), and postdoctoral researcher Dokyung Oh (Department of Food Engineering), who collaboratively conducted this interdisciplinary research and achieved significant results.

Functional image of cancer-fighting and antibacterial effects of silver nanoparticles utilizing pear-derived proanthocyanidins.

The paper containing these research results, titled “Harnessing marine-derived polyphenols for the one-pot synthesis of functional silver nanoparticles: Anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, and MD simulation,” was published in a prestigious international journal in the field of materials science (IF 13.2, JCR ranking TOP 7.6%).

Through this research, the team secured essential data for developing advanced bio-medical materials using marine natural products and proposed core technologies for synthesizing natural product-based nanomaterials, which is expected to overcome existing technological limitations.

This research was supported by funding from the National Research Foundation of Korea’s University-Focused Research Institute Program and the Doctoral Student Research Encouragement Fund Program (Principal Investigator Namkyun Kim).