Abstract

A simple method for the preparation of size‐controlled spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was reported for their generation by autoclaving a mixture of silver‐containing glass powder and glucose. The particle size is regulated by the glucose concentration, with concentrations of 0.25, 1.0, and 4.0 wt% glucose providing small (3.48 ± 1.83 nm in diameter), medium (6.53 ± 1.78 nm), and large (12.9 ± 2.5 nm) particles, respectively. In this study, Ag NP/chitin composites were synthesized by mixing each of these three Ag NP suspensions with a <5% deacetylated (DAc) chitin powder (pH 7.0) at room temperature. The Ag NPs were homogenously dispersed and stably adsorbed onto the chitin. The Ag NP/chitin composites were obtained as yellow or brown powders. Approximately 5, 15, and 20 μg of the small, medium, and large Ag NPs, respectively, were estimated to maximally adsorb onto 1 mg of chitin. The bactericidal and antifungal activities of the Ag NP/chitin composites increased as the amount of Ag NPs in the chitin increased. Furthermore, smaller Ag NPs (per weight) in the chitin composites provided higher bactericidal and anti‐fungal activities.

Highlights

  • In recent years, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been the subject of many studies due to their potential in various applications such as catalysts, photonic devices, biosensors, antimicrobials, and drug delivery systems [1,2,3,4], since their chemical properties are significantly different from those of the bulk material

  • Ag NP/chitin composites were synthesized by mixing chitin and Ag NP suspensions at pH 7.0 for 30 min

  • The Ag NPs adsorbed onto the chitin powder were substantially stabilized compared to those in the absence of chitin and were homogenously dispersed and stably adsorbed

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Summary

Introduction

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been the subject of many studies due to their potential in various applications such as catalysts, photonic devices, biosensors, antimicrobials, and drug delivery systems [1,2,3,4], since their chemical properties are significantly different from those of the bulk material Their special and unique properties can be attributed to their smaller size and larger specific surface area, and many preparation processes have been proposed for controlling the physical and/or chemical characteristics of Ag NPs [5,6,7,8,9]. We developed an environmentally friendly process for tightly controlling the size distribution of Ag NPs [24] This process uses only three materials: AgNO3-containing glass powder, glucose, and water. The size-controlled Ag NP/chitin composites were evaluated for their bactericidal (against E. coli (strain DH5α)) and antifungal (against Aspergillus (A.) niger) activities

Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion
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