Abstract
In this study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of silver-coated gold nanoparticles (Au-Ag NPs) immobilized on cellulose paper. Ag NPs are known to have strong antibacterial properties, while Au NPs are biocompatible and relatively simple to prepare. We made the Au-Ag NPs using a facile process called Ag enhancement, in which Au NPs serve as the nuclei for precipitation of a Ag coating, the thickness of which can be easily controlled by varying the ratio of the reactants. After synthesis, electron microscopy showed that the Au-Ag NPs displayed a core-shell structure, and that they could be successfully immobilized onto a cellulose membrane by heat treatment. We then investigated the antibacterial properties of this NP-coated cellulose paper against E. coli JM109. The inhibition rate, growth curve, and AATCC 100 activity test showed that cellulose paper coated with 15 nm Au-Ag NPs possessed excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli JM109. These results suggest that Au-Ag NPs immobilized on cellulose paper could be a valuable antibacterial technology for applications such as food packaging, clothing, wound dressings, and other personal care products.
Highlights
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth[1] and has been used for a wide range of applications, such as filtration, food, medicine, pregnancy tests, cosmetics, and healthcare due to its low-cost, low-toxicity, hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and flexibility[2,3,4,5,6,7]
We studied how Au and Ag NPs can be combined in cellulose paper to create a safer, yet still effective antibacterial material that is suitable for biomedical and food packaging purposes
Our findings showed that Au-Ag NPs made using a 100/1 ratio of Au to Ag reactants possessed excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli JM109
Summary
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth[1] and has been used for a wide range of applications, such as filtration, food, medicine, pregnancy tests, cosmetics, and healthcare due to its low-cost, low-toxicity, hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and flexibility[2,3,4,5,6,7]. Researchers have examined the properties of inorganic metal nanoparticles (NPs), such as those made of silver (Ag), gold (Au), zinc, and copper[20,21,22,23] Among these materials, Ag NPs have demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity through mechanisms involving the release of Ag+ ions that affect the replication of DNA24 or the collapse of the proton-motive force across the cytoplasmic membrane[25]. We studied how Au and Ag NPs can be combined in cellulose paper to create a safer, yet still effective antibacterial material that is suitable for biomedical and food packaging purposes. The formed thin Ag shell can provide effective antibacterial properties by releasing Ag+ ions like Ag NPs, and the Au-Ag NPs present a relatively eco-friendly and safer approach that is suitable for biomedical purposes. This antibacterial concept was adopted from a similar strategy by Richter et al.[36] who used Ag+ ions infused in benign lignin-core NPs coated with cationic polyelectrolyte to provide a greener alternative to metallic Ag NPs
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