Abstract
Dendrimers have emerged as one of the most promising, cost-effective synthesizing methodologies in which highly monodispersed metallic nanoparticles can be produced with varied chemical functionalities. In this report, we have investigated the synthesis and application of as-synthesized dendrimer-encapsulated zero-valent nickel “Ni(0)” nanoparticles (NPs), using a fourth generation (G4) NH2-terminated poly(amido)amine (PAMAM) dendrimer as the host template, as potential antimicrobial agents. Apparently, based on ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, Ni(0) NPs with an average measured size less than 10 nm in diameter were formed within the interior void cavity of the dendrimer structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that the NPs exhibited a single-phased, face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystallographic structure. Furthermore, to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the dendrimer-encapsulated Ni(0) NPs, disk diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) examinations, both antimicrobial tests, were conducted. Subsequently, UV-vis analyses, after exposure of the dendrimer-encapsulated Ni(0) NPs to both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, revealed that the dendrimer-encapsulated particles prevented the growth of bacteria during the culturing stage.
Highlights
Interest in nanoparticles synthesis has intensified within the scientific community due to their large amount of surfacearea-to-volume ratio, which can be modified for use in a wide range of technological and chemical systems
Upon complexation, a shift in the absorbance wavelength of the ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) spectra can be observed for the complexed mixture (λ > 300 nm) and is indicative of interactions occurring between dendrimers and Ni+2 ions
We present the successful synthesis of dendrimer-mediated nickel nanoparticles with
Summary
Interest in nanoparticles synthesis has intensified within the scientific community due to their large amount of surfacearea-to-volume ratio, which can be modified for use in a wide range of technological and chemical systems. Due to the limitation of current synthesizing methodologies to produce nanoparticles with precise physical and chemical details, concerns have increased over nanoparticle usage in the healthcare industry. The development of more cost efficient synthetic methodologies with the capability of producing nanoparticles with highly controllable sizes and chemical functionalities will increase the possibilities of developing new types of nanostructures with well-designed (or even specific) functional surfaces or architectures that can be used in the biomedical industry as antimicrobial agents. The antimicrobial activity exhibited by nanoparticles has been attributed to their relatively smaller sizes and high amount of surface-area-to-volume ratio that allows nanoparticles to interact closely with membranes of viruses, fungi, or bacteria rather than the normal mechanism of releasing metal ions in solution [17]. Through the details of the dendrimer architecture, nanoparticles with high surface-area-to-volume ratios can be produced and should exhibit a high chemical reactivity as a biological agent. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial properties of dendrimer-encapsulated Ni nanoparticles against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria
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