Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Stabilized Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized using Quercetin and Their Effects on Soil Respiration and Enzymes

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using quercetin in aqueous carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solution, which is used as both the reducing and capping bioagents in the current study. The characterization of synthesized CMC-Q AgNPs was performed through different analysis techniques. Antibacterial activity was assessed by using agar well diffusion assay against both gram-positive and gram-negative strains. Also, the effect of nanoparticles on biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. Moreover, soil treated with CMC-Q AgNPs and AgNO3 was analyzed in terms of soil respiration, silver contents, and soil exoenzymes (dehydrogenase and urease). In the study, the microscopic images represented the average size of the CMC-Q AgNPsto be 27 nm and the zeta potential of −59.4 (mV) could also be signed as the higher stability. Generally, the results indicate that CMC-Q AgNPs might be powerful antibacterial agents. Furthermore, we found that CMC-Q AgNPs and AgNO3 could both inhibit exoenzyme activities in soil, with the inhibitory effects especially obvious at higher exposure times and concentrations. Also, the findings revealed that Ag concentration and soil respiration (% of control) in the soil treated with AgNO3 was lower compared to CMC-Q AgNPs treatment. This might be explained in terms of different transformations of two compounds in the soil.