Abstract
BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threaten global health. It is necessary to explore new solutions, such as the use of metal-based nanoparticles and nanomaterials for antimicrobial photodynamic/photothermal therapy (aPDT/aPTT). In this paper, we investigated the antibacterial effect, PTT, and PDT performance of biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and nanostructures derived from them. METHOD: Biogenic AgNPs (R. crispus seeds mediated AgNPs, RC-AgNPs) are produced by the extract of the R. crispus seeds. The morphology of RC-AgNPs-treated bacteria was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then RC-AgNP @ poly-G was synthesized by the interaction of poly-G with biogenic AgNPs. Nanostructures characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The entropy and temperature studies of poly G secondary structure were carried out using the Vienna RNA secondary structure server and UV-visible spectroscopy at 25°, 37°, and 40° C. RESULTS: Results have shown that RC-AgNPs and RC-AgNP @ poly-G exhibit a synergistic antibacterial effect with PTT and PDT. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, these nanoparticles could be nanotheranostic agents. They have acceptable potential in the therapy and diagnosis of infectious and non-infectious diseases. Consequently, they are good objectives for future research. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12896-026-01120-6.