Bactericidal and ammonia removal activity of silver ion-exchanged zeolite

The antimicrobial activity of silver-zeolite against Escherichia coli, Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus was examined in liquid medium and agar well diffusion assays. The minimum inhibitory concentration for silver ion-exchanged zeolite against E. coli and V. harveyi was 40 μg/ml, and 50–60 μg/ml for V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus. The diameter of the inhibition zones for E. coli, V. harveyi, V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus, respectively, increased from 0.5 to 2.3 cm, 0.6 to 2.4 cm, 0.3 to 1.65 cm and 0.3 to 1.7 cm with increasing concentrations of silver ion-exchanged zeolite from 10 to 400 μg. Silver-zeolite removed 20–37% ammonia from aqueous solutions. This study suggests that silver ion-exchanged zeolite could impact disease and environmental management in shrimp aquaculture.

► Silver ion exchanged zeolite has been synthesized and found to have bactericidal activity.
► Minimum inhibitory concentration for Ag-zeolite has been determined against shrimp pathogenic bacteria.
► Ag-zeolite found to remove ammonia by 20–37%.
► Ag-zeolite act as a low cost promising material for aquaculture use.
► Potential use for disease and environmental management in aquaculture.