The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a serious health issue, globally. Finally, after decades of negligence, the AMR issue has now captured the worldwide attention of the global leaders, the public health community, legalization authorities, academia, research-based organizations, and medicinal sector of the modern world, alike. Research is underway around the globe to develop novel strategies and measures to combat AMR issue. Among various approaches, biomaterials-based therapeutic constructs are of supreme interests due to their unique physiochemical and structural characteristics, tunable properties, ease of use, biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and efficacy [1-3]. Herein, a facile biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and AgNPs-loaded chitosan (CST)-polyethylene oxide (PEO)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) constructs with biomedical potentialities is reported. The UV-Vis spectroscopic profile confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs using methanolic leaves extract of Taraxacum officinale. The newly developed AgNPs were characterized using various analytical and imaging techniques including UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The optimally yielded AgNPs at 24 h reaction period were loaded onto various CST-PEO/PEG constructs. A maximum of 93% and 82% loading efficiency (LE) was recorded for CST: PEO/PEG ratios at 2:1 and 2:2, respectively. The anti-bacterial activities of AgNPs-CST-PEO/PEG constructs were tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Haemophilus influenzae. As compared to the initial bacterial count, i.e., 1.5 × 10⁸ CFU/mL (control value), AgNPs-CST-PEO/PEG constructs showed a remarkable reduction in the log values. The cytotoxicity profile revealed complete biocompatibility against L929 cell line. However, AgNPs-CST-PEO/PEG constructs showed considerable cytotoxicity up to certain extent against human epithelial cells (HeLa) cancer cells. In conclusion, the highest antibacterial activities along with anti-cancer behavior both suggest the biomedical potentialities of newly engineered AgNPs and AgNPs-loaded CST-PEO/PEG constructs. The engineered constructs may also be potential candidates as NPs or materials-based vaccines for antibacterial vaccination.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, Taraxacum officinale, AgNPs, Chitosan, PEO/PEG, Antibacterial, Anticancer