Chemical Reduction-Derived Nickel Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Antimicrobial and Wound Healing Agents: Mechanistic, Biocompatibility, and Computational Insights.

The spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens and increasing chronic wound infection challenges necessitate new methods of therapeutic approaches to those that involve the use of conventional antibiotics. One of the studies developed nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) through a controlled chemical reduction process and experimented on their antimicrobial, anti-biofilm, wound-healing, biocompatibility, and mechanistic properties systematically. The structural characterization was used to establish the presence of crystalline, high-purity nickel nanostructures with a specific morphology and surface functionality. NiNPs had concentration-dependent antibacterial action on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and the bactericidal action was validated by MIC, MBC, and time-kill kinetics. Both biofilm formation and mature biofilms were greatly inhibited, which explains their possible use in persistent infections. Mechanistic studies showed that there is a greater intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species, membrane permeabilization, and nucleic acid and protein leakage, which confirmed ROS-mediated membrane disruption as a major antibacterial mechanism. Cytotoxicity and hemolysis studies showed that it had an acceptable therapeutic window with good selectivity against bacterial cells. In vivo testing using a full-thickness excisional wound model revealed faster wound contraction, enhancement of re-epithelialization, and better development of granulation tissue. Electronic and interaction information was obtained by complementary molecular docking, density functional theory, and normal mode to support the results of experiments. Such findings make chemically synthesized NiNPs potential multifunctional nanotherapeutic agents in infection control and tissue regeneration.