Abstract
The synergistic effects of transition metal based nanocomposites are known to possess enhanced antibacterial activities. However, in‐depth analysis of the relative antibacterial performance of some of the prominent nanocomposites remains unavailable. This study compares the antibacterial activity of two separate nanocomposites, which are copper oxide with silver (CuO/Ag) and zinc oxide with silver (ZnO/Ag). The individual CuO/Ag and ZnO/Ag nanocomposites were synthesised by a mixed wet‐chemical method. The resulting particles were analysed by XRD, XRF, TEM, UV‐Vis spectrophotometer, BET, and FTIR. The antibacterial activity of the nanoparticles were tested on Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria, Escherichia coli (ATCC25922) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC25923), respectively, using the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion and the microdilution methods. The Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion test results had the same minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) value for both CuO/Ag and ZnO/Ag against E. coli and S. aureus, which was 0.25 mg/ml. The applied nanocomposites using microdilution showed that CuO/Ag had approximately 98.8% and 98.7% efficiency on the respective Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial species, while ZnO/Ag achieved 91.7% and 89.3% efficiency, respectively, against the Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial species. This study presents a novel approach for relative analysis of the performance efficiency of transition metal based nanocomposites.
Highlights
Inorganic nanoparticles have demonstrated strong activity against broad-spectrum Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species [1]. e toxicity of nanoparticles to bacteria depends on the kind and composition of the nanoparticles as well as the type of bacteria involved [2]
Silver nanoparticles are effective against a wide span of microbes including Gram-positive and Gramnegative bacteria and viruses [4]. e antibacterial activity of silver is dependent on the antibacterial mechanistic routes of nanoparticles against bacterial species [5]. ese routes are (1) the mediating of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may destabilize cell functionality or integrity, and (2) the direct penetration of nanoparticles, which may cause functional and structural changes to organelles [6]
Silver atoms are located at each corner of the unit cell and at the middle of each face. e absence of unwanted peaks indicates the purity of the nanocomposite. e purity of the samples that were further analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is critical to determine the true antibacterial effect of the nanocomposite antibacterial agents
Summary
Inorganic nanoparticles have demonstrated strong activity against broad-spectrum Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species [1]. e toxicity of nanoparticles to bacteria depends on the kind and composition of the nanoparticles as well as the type of bacteria involved [2]. A major drawback of using silver nanoparticles is due to their associated small size, which enables them to cross biological membranes with ease of posing risks to humans and the environment. It is envisaged that nanocomposites of silver with each of these metal oxides will create a potent and yet more cost-effective inorganic antibacterial material [15].
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