000170215 001__ 170215
000170215 005__ 20260407115449.0
000170215 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.3390/gels12030231
000170215 0248_ $$2sideral$$a148680
000170215 037__ $$aART-2026-148680
000170215 041__ $$aeng
000170215 100__ $$aSalto-Girón, Carmen
000170215 245__ $$aProtein-directed nucleation and stabilization of ultrasmall silver nanoparticles within BSA hydrogels
000170215 260__ $$c2026
000170215 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000170215 5203_ $$aBiocompatible nanocomposite hydrogels are emerging as versatile platforms in nanomedicine, particularly when natural proteins are used as both structural and chemical components. In this work, we report a green, simple, and rapid in situ synthesis of ultrasmall silver nanoparticles (uAgNPs) within a bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogel, in which albumin simultaneously acts as the reducing agent and three-dimensional scaffold. The confined reaction environment generated uniformly dispersed Ag nanostructures with diameters in the 4–40 nm range, as confirmed by DLS and TEM. High-resolution TEM revealed clear Face-Centered Cubic (FCC, 111) lattice fringes, demonstrating the crystalline nature of the embedded uAgNPs. Quantitative image analysis showed narrow size distributions and high circularities, consistent with cluster stabilization through protein–metal interactions. Rheological measurements further indicated that the incorporation of uAgNPs enhanced hydrogel stiffness and delayed yielding, reflecting a reinforcement effect mediated by the nanoparticles acting as additional cross-linking points. Moreover, when very small embedded uAgNPs are formed, the presence of emissive silver nanoclusters was found using fluorescence emission spectroscopy. Overall, our results show that BSA hydrogels provide an effective matrix for directing green uAgNP nucleation, ensuring high stability, controlled growth in less than 2 min, and improved mechanical properties. The resulting protein–nanoparticle composite constitutes a promising soft material for imaging, sensing, and other biomedical applications requiring stable, biocompatible nanoscale architectures.
000170215 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/CEX2023-001286-S$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ-DGA/T57-23R
000170215 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es
000170215 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
000170215 700__ $$aGonzález-García, M. Carmen
000170215 700__ $$aMañas-Torres, Mari C.
000170215 700__ $$aLópez-López, Modesto T.
000170215 700__ $$aÁlvarez de Cienfuegos, Luis
000170215 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-4546-4111$$aHueso, José L.$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170215 700__ $$aOrte, Angel
000170215 700__ $$aGarcía-Fernández, Emilio
000170215 7102_ $$15005$$2790$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb.$$cÁrea Tecnologi. Medio Ambiente
000170215 773__ $$g12, 3 (2026), 231$$pGels$$tGels$$x2310-2861
000170215 787__ $$tMaterial suplementario$$whttps://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/gels12030231/s1
000170215 8564_ $$s1461470$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170215/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada
000170215 8564_ $$s2553283$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170215/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada
000170215 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:170215$$particulos$$pdriver
000170215 951__ $$a2026-03-26-14:31:52
000170215 980__ $$aARTICLE