Valorization of Parkia biglobosa wastewater for novel biofabrication of Ag/TiO2 nanoparticles with potent action against MDR strains and nanotextile application

Abstract

In this work, we report for the first time, the biogenic production of silver-titanium oxide alloy nanoparticles (Ag/TiO2 NPs) via wastewater from fermented beans of locust beans plant (Parkia biglobosa) with potent antimicrobial activities using as-prepared nanoparticles and fabric functionalized with the nanoparticles. The deep brown colloidal solution of Ag/TiO2 NPs absorbed at 400 nm with a single peak that signifies the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles. The characteristic peaks of 3898–3900, 3493–3506 and 1773–1775 cm−1 obtained through Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopic investigations showed the involvement of proteins and phenolics in the synthesis of Ag/TiO2 NPs. The transmission electron microscopic measurement of the nearly spherical-shaped nanoparticles revealed size range of 11.40–28.93 nm with crystalline structure in the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) image. The energy-dispersive X-ray pattern showed prominence of silver, oxygen and titanium in the colloidal solution. The synthesized Ag/TiO2 NPs inhibited the growth of strains of multi-drug resistant bacteria such as Klebsiella oxytoca, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli as well as fungal isolates that included Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium solani. Similarly, the antimicrobial potency of the fabrics functionalized with Ag/TiO2 NPs NPs was remarkable with antibacterial activities (15–24 mm) and complete suppression of the growth of A. niger. This novel antimicrobial agent can be explored for textile and biomedical applications in the control of drug resistant isolates to engender good health and wellbeing (SDG 3).