Core/shell phosphomolybdic acid-supported magnetic silica nanocomposite (Ni@SiO2-PMo): Synthesis, characterization and its application as a recyclable antibacterial agent

Abstract

In the present work, phosphomolybdic acid (PMo) supported on silica coated magnetic Ni core/shell nanocomposite (Ni@SiO2-PMo) was synthesized and characterized. The antibacterial property of synthesized Ni@SiO2-PMo magnetic nanocomposite has been investigated for the first time against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli) using micro dilution approach. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effect (cell viability) of Ni@SiO2/PMo has been investigated on breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and normal hepatic (WRL) cell line in vitro using MTT assay. The results demonstrate that the prepared Ni@SiO2-PMo core/shell magnetic nanocomposite showed excellent antibacterial properties against the tested bacterial strain, in which the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were 500 μg/ml. The variation in antibacterial property of this Ni@SiO2-PMo core/shell nanocomposite has been also tested through the successive magnetic separation and recycling. The Ni@SiO2-PMo nanocomposite could be reused and its antibacterial property continued fixed after five cycles, which enable it to be significantly used in biomedical fields.