A simple strategy to fabricate poly (acrylamide-co-alginate)/gold nanocomposites for inactivation of bacteria

Abstract

A facile and efficient approach to prepare uniform gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in hybrid hydrogel consisting of acrylamide (AM) and alginate (SA) for antibacterial applications is reported. In this study, reduction of gold ions by acrylamide and alginate (AM–SA) occurred before the polymerization and as-obtained gold colloids are stabilized by AM–SA immediately in the absence of commonly used reducing agents and protective reagents. Via transmittance electron microscopy results, we can conclude that the obtained gold nanoparticles in hydrogel are well dispersed. Furthermore, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the structure and composition of the synthetic nanocomposites. Our approach provides well-dispersed nanoparticles around 8 mm in size. It is important to underline that nanoparticle aggregation was not observed during and after gel formation. The prepared Au NPs exhibited remarkable stability in the presence of high pH s, and a range of salt concentrations. Importantly, the hydrogel/gold nanocomposites showed a non-compromised activity to inhibit the growth of a model bacterium, Escherichia coli. With their excellent mechanical behavior, as well as the remained antibacterial activity, the nanocomposites should get various potential applications in the fields of pharmaceutical science and tissue engineering.