Microwave assisted in situ synthesis of gum Salai guggal based silver nanocomposites- investigation of anti-bacterial properties

Abstract

This paper describes the fabrication of silver nanocomposites based on semi interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) and interpenetrating network (IPN) matrices and their antibacterial activity. The semi-IPN and IPN matrices were prepared under microwave radiation using polyacrylic acid and polyacrylamide chains to graft copolymerize the polysaccharide fraction of gum Salai guggal. After optimizing the reaction parameters with respect to maximum water absorption capacity, the synthesized semi-IPN and IPN were found to show 1350% and 483% swelling percentage, respectively. The semi-IPN and IPN matrices were converted into their respective silver nanocomposites through swelling- shrinking process via the immersion of super absorbents in AgNO3 aqueous solution and irradiation of samples with gamma rays. FTIR, SEM–EDS, HR-TEM, XRD and UV–Vis studies confirmed the formation of silver nanocomposites. The 3-D crosslinked polymeric structures of the matrix phase regulate the particle size between 8.19–28.83 and 1.27–4.14 nm for the silver nanoparticles derived through semi-IPN nanocomposite (Sg-cl-polyAAm-MW-Ag0) and IPN nanocomposite (Sg-cl-polyAAm-IPN-AA-MW-Ag0) matrix templates, respectively. The silver nanocomposites were evaluated for antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. It was found that all the samples have potential activity against these bacteria and thus can be used for biomedical applications like scaffolds to inhibit bacterial infections.