Antibacterial Property of Composites of Reduced Graphene Oxide with Nano-Silver and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized Using a Microwave-Assisted Approach

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 20; no. 21; p. 5394
• Main Authors: Hsueh, Yi-Huang, Hsieh, Chien-Te, Chiu, Shu-Ting, Tsai, Ping-Han, Liu, Chia-Ying, Ke, Wan-Ju
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 29.10.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Adsorption; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Antibacterial agents; Biomedical materials; Catalysis; Chemical reduction; Coliforms; Drug delivery; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; E coli; escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Flow cytometry; Graphene; Graphite - chemistry; Graphite - pharmacology; Membranes; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Microwaves; minimum inhibitory concentration; nano-silver; nanocomposite; Nanocomposites; Nanocomposites - chemistry; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Particle Size; Reductases; Scanning electron microscopy; Silver; Silver - chemistry; Silver - pharmacology; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Spectrum analysis; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; sterilization; X-Ray Diffraction; Zinc oxide; Zinc Oxide - chemistry; Zinc Oxide - pharmacology; Zinc oxides; nano-silver; Escherichia coli; antibacterial agents; sterilization; nanocomposite; Staphylococcus aureus; graphene; minimum inhibitory concentration
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms20215394

Graphene oxide (GO) composites with various metal nanoparticles (NPs) are attracting increasing interest owing to their broad scope in biomedical applications. Here, microwave-assisted chemical reduction was used to deposit nano-silver and zinc oxide NPs (Ag and ZnO NPs) on the surface of reduced GO (rGO) at the following weight percentages: 5.34% Ag/rGO, 7.49% Ag/rGO, 6.85% ZnO/rGO, 16.45% ZnO/rGO, 3.47/34.91% Ag/ZnO/rGO, and 7.08/15.28% Ag/ZnO/rGO. These materials were tested for antibacterial activity, and 3.47/34.91% Ag/ZnO/rGO and 7.08/15.28% Ag/ZnO/rGO exhibited better antibacterial activity than the other tested materials against the gram-negative bacterium K12 At 1000 ppm, both these Ag/ZnO/rGO composites had better killing properties against both K12 and the gram-positive bacterium SA113 than Ag/rGO and ZnO/rGO did. RedoxSensor flow cytometry showed that 3.47/34.91% Ag/ZnO/rGO and 7.08/15.28% Ag/ZnO/rGO decreased reductase activity and affected membrane integrity in the bacteria. At 100 ppm, these two composites affected membrane integrity more in , while 7.08/15.28% Ag/ZnO/rGO considerably decreased reductase activity in . Thus, the 3.47/34.91% and 7.08%/15.28% Ag/ZnO/rGO nanocomposites can be applied not only as antibacterial agents but also in a variety of biomedical materials such as sensors, photothermal therapy, drug delivery, and catalysis, in the future.