In situ syntheses of silver nanoparticles inside silver citrate nanorods via catalytic nanoconfinement effect

Abstract

Although it is still worth to use silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents, silver nanoparticles can also be dangerous to human body, when they used directly to the wound sites. One strategy for avoiding this problem is to embed the nanoparticles in matrices such as hydrogels, polymers, or composites; however, most methods have limitations in terms of nanoparticle loading efficiency and/or pre- or post-treatment required in the manufacturing process. Herein, we introduce two in-situ synthetic methods in which silver nanoparticles are directly synthesized inside silver citrate nanorods that are antimicrobial materials composed of silver and citrate ions. The silver nanoparticles embedded antimicrobial silver citrate nanorods are expected to exhibit a synergistic, long―lasting, and sustainable antimicrobial effect. In addition, this study shows that a large number of nanoparticles can be formed inside silver citrate nanorods with no additional reagents not only at temperatures much lower (as low as 25 °C) than those usually required but also rapidly via electron beam irradiation. The fundamental principles of the proposed efficient syntheses are discussed in terms of the catalytic effect of reactants confined in nanospaces.