Treatment of influenza virus A by exosomes and gold nanoparticles derived from Moringa stem extract

Influenza A viruses are highly contagious pathogens that infect humans and a variety of animal species. These viruses lead to millions of infections and thousands of fatalities annually, positioning influenza A viruses (IAVs) as an ongoing risk to global health. This study revealed and demonstrated the neutralisation efficacy of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), gold nanoparticles-polyethylene glycol (AuNPs-PEG), exosomes, exosomes-AuNPs, and exosomes-AuNPs-PEG in host cells targeting the hemagglutinin 1 (H1) neuraminidase 1 (N1) (H1N1) virus. The plate map from the neutralisation study demonstrated a significant cell health following the neutralisation of H1N1 using AuNPs and exosomes. Analysis of cellular uptake revealed that nanoparticles were successfully encapsulated within the human embryonic kidney cell line-293 (HEK293) cells, as evidenced by the fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). MTT assay demonstrated that the synthesized nanoparticles exhibited toxicity at higher concentrations, while demonstrating lower toxicity at lower concentrations. Various characterization techniques were used to study the morphology of the synthesized nanomaterials, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), water contact angle (WCA), Zetasizer, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). TEM was used to investigate the morphology of nanoparticles synthesized, and different shapes were recorded, including rod-like structures and cup-shaped structures. Analysis of particle size distribution revealed a range of diameters, with a PDI of <0.5, indicating that synthesised nanoparticles exhibited stability. XRD exhibited crystallinity of nanoparticles synthesized with a Face-centered cubic (FCC) shape of AuNPs. BET of AuNPs-PEG exhibited a larger surface area of 12.6194 m²/g. This suggests that these nanomaterials may serve as potential anti-viral agents against the influenza virus.