Fig 2: The NIH/3T3 (ATCC® CRL−1658™) mouse fibroblast (a) cell viability (evaluated by a 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl) 5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay—MTS assay) and (b) cytotoxicity (inferred by a lactate dehydrogenase release test—LDH) evaluated after 48 h in the case of the pure and substituted HA NPs. The (a) MTS and (b) LDH results are presented as means ± standard deviations (n = 3) and were obtained as a percentage of the control. * p < 0.05, statistically significant differences with respect to pure HA as determined by using a one-way ANOVA multiple analysis followed by a Dunnett’s post hoc test.

Fig 3: (a) Viability of 3T3/NIH fibroblast cells (ATCC CRL-1658) after 3 h exposure to T-GNEs. (b) Resistance development against T-GNEs and terbinafine, showing fold changes in MICs across successive passages. Significantly, no resistance development was observed with any of the GNE systems.

Fig 4: (a) Antimicrobial activity against reference strains of Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and (b) cytotoxicity assessment using NIH/3T3 murine fibroblast cells.

Fig 5: Proliferation capability (a) and morphology (b) of NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblast cells (ATCC CRL-1658™) on the surface of tested materials. The images display representative results from a single experiment (n = 4–5 for each condition). Due to necessity of samples fixation prior staining and imaging, each photograph presents different material from the samples’ set. Scales: 3 mm (a) or 100 μm (b).