Abstract
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been found to have extensive biomedical and biological applications. They can be synthesised using chemical and biological methods, and coated by polymer to enhance their stability. Hence, the changes in the physico-chemical characteristics of AgNPs must be scrutinised due to their importance for biological activity. The UV-Visible absorption spectra of polyethylene glycol (PEG) -coated AgNPs displayed a distinctive narrow peak compared to uncoated AgNPs. In addition, High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis revealed that the shapes of all AgNPs, were predominantly spherical, triangular, and rod-shaped. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis further confirmed the role of PEG molecules in the reduction and stabilisation of the AgNPs. Moreover, dynamic light scattering analysis also revealed that the polydispersity index values of PEG-coated AgNPs were lower than the uncoated AgNPs, implying a more uniform size distribution. Furthermore, the uncoated and PEG-coated biologically synthesised AgNPs demonstrated antagonisms activities towards tested pathogenic bacteria, whereas no antagonism activity was detected for the chemically synthesised AgNPs. Overall, generalisation on the interrelations of synthesis methods, PEG coating, characteristics, and antimicrobial activity of AgNPs were established in this study.
Highlights
Nanoparticles (NPs) can be defined differently, depending on the types of materials, fields, and applications [1]
The recorded wavelengths of the absorption peaks were still found to be falling under the range of typical AgNP’s wavelength; these results proved that there is no significant change in the value of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) after the AgNPs were coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) [3]
The morphological study of the synthesised AgNPs using High Resolution—Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) revealed that the predominant shape was spherical (86.86%), followed by triangular (8.00%) and rod (5.14%)
Summary
Nanoparticles (NPs) can be defined differently, depending on the types of materials, fields, and applications [1]. NPs have different physical and chemical properties from their bulk materials; these properties are affording the exploitation of NPs for various applications [3]. These NPs can be classified into organic (e.g., carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and chitosan) and inorganic (e.g., zinc oxide, gold, iron, and cadmium sulphide) groups [4]. Sondi et al [7] reported that the chemical reduction of silver nitrate with the presence of a stabilising agent, Daxad 19, in aqueous solution, obtained highly concentrated and stable dispersion of NPs
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