Preparation and antibacterial performance testing of Ag nanoparticles embedded biological materials

In this study, we developed an environmentally friendly chemistry strategy to synthesize Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) embedded biological material, powdered mussel shell (PMS). With the PMS as scaffolds and surfactant, Ag nanoparticles of controllable size dispersed uniformly on it via liquid chemical reduction approach. Morphologies and characteristics of synthesized Ag-NPs/PMS hybrids were analyzed with TEM, SEM and XPS. Antibacterial properties were investigated with Gram-positive bacteria (Arthrobacter sulfureus (A. sulfureus) YACS14, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)) and Gram-negative bacteria (Vibrio anguillarum (V. anguillarum) MVM425, Escherichia coli (E. coli)). The antimicrobial results illustrated that Ag-NPs/PMS composites have antibacterial effect on both sea water and fresh water bacteria with a better effect on sea water bacteria. The degree of antibacterial effect is directly related to the amount of Ag released from Ag-NPs/PMS.