Antimicrobial and Photocatalytic Degradation Activities of Chitosan-coated Magnetite Nanocomposite

Abstract

In this work, iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) were modified by chitosan (CS). Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized by co-precipitation method and their antimicrobial potential and photo-catalytic degradation of Chloramine T (CT) were investigated. The free Fe3O4 NPs and chitosan-coated Fe3O4 NPs (CS-Fe3O4 NPs) were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and HRTEM. Fe3O4 NPs have spherical shape and their diameter varied from 18.0 nm to 25.0 nm with average particle size at 21.0 nm. Antimicrobial activity was tested towards some pathogenic bacteria and Candida cells as zone of inhibition (ZOI) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). UV-assisted photocatalytic degradation of CT was investigated. Various parameters affecting the photocatalytic efficiency such as (pH on CT removal, CT initial concentration, and adsorbent dose) were studied. Antimicrobial results showed that CS-Fe3O4 NPs possesses a maximum potential against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans, by 18.0, 17.0, 14.2 mm ZOI, respectively. Results obtained from the photocatalytic activity indicated that CS-Fe3O4 NPs (2.0 gm/l) possessed a promising removal potential, achieving 86.0% removal of CT in the neutral solution (pH = 7.0). The synthesized CS-Fe3O4 NPs are effective for the removal of CT and potent disinfectant agent for pathogenic microbes with possible application in the wastewater treatment.