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Sonochemical synthesis and stabilization of concentrated antimicrobial silver‐chitosan nanoparticle dispersions
Author(s) -
Francesko Antonio,
Cano Fossas Marta,
Petkova Petya,
Fernandes Margarida M.,
Mendoza Ernest,
Tzanov Tzanko
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.45136
Subject(s) - sonication , chitosan , silver nanoparticle , aqueous solution , nanoparticle , materials science , stabilizer (aeronautics) , chemical engineering , nuclear chemistry , antibacterial activity , antibacterial agent , yield (engineering) , nanotechnology , chemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry , composite material , bacteria , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , biology , engineering , genetics , antibiotics
This work reports on a green synthetic route to produce concentrated aqueous dispersions of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) employing high‐intensity ultrasound (US) and chitosan (CS) as a nontoxic reducing agent for Ag + salts and AgNP stabilizer. The sonication simultaneously boosted the synthesis and improved the stability of the AgNP, capping them with CS. Hybrid AgNP‐CS antimicrobial dispersions, stable for at least 6 months, were synthesized in a simple single step process. The use of US allowed for applying relatively mild processing temperatures (60 °C) and reaction time between 30 min and 3 h to obtain concentrated dispersions of AgNP that otherwise could not be obtained even after 72 h under mechanical stirring at the same reaction conditions. Upon sonication spherical AgNP‐CS with a size between 60 and 100 nm were generated, in contrast to the average diameter of ∼200 nm of the particles obtained by stirring. The antibacterial efficiency of the AgNP‐CS hybrids was evaluated against the medically relevant pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . The US‐synthesized AgNP‐CS showed more than three fold higher antibacterial activity compared to the particles obtained under stirring, due to their higher concentration and smaller size. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45136.