Characterization and antibacterial activity of nickel ferrite doped α-alumina nanoparticle

The magnetic behaviour towards biomedical applications of transition metal-ferrite and transition metal-ferrite based nanoparticles is dependent upon the nanoparticles preparation parameters. In this study, an experimental design using central composite design (CCD) has been explored in the production of alumina based nickel-ferrite nanoparticles via wet impregnation method. The effects of operating conditions such as drying temperature, drying time and mass of support on the percentage yield of nickel-ferrite were studied. The optimum nickel-ferrite yield of 97.45% was obtained at 7.5 g of α-alumina, drying time of 7 h and drying temperature of 116.70 °C and then characterized using SEM, EDS and XRD to determine the surface morphology, elemental analysis and crystallinity respectively. The antibacterial activities of the nickel-ferrites doped α-alumina were tested on Gram-negative bacterium: E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus. The antibacterial results of the nickel ferrites doped α-alumina nanoparticle on microorganisms showed that the nanoparticles shows no effect on the growth of E. coli but depicts an inhibitory growth on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and S. aureus with high antibacterial effect on S. aureus of 1.70 mm diameter of inhibition. Hence, the developed nickel ferrites doped α-alumina nanoparticle shows high antibacterial effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and S. aureus which makes it a potential material for biomedical application.