Selcan Karakus

By Selcan Karakuş

Part of the book: Science and Technology Behind Nanoemulsions

By Selcan Karakus, Ezgi Tan, Merve Ilgar, Ismail Sıtkı Basdemir and Ayben Kilislioglu

In this study, the antibacterial effect of novel copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) metal-based core-shell nanostructures against Escherichia coli (E. coli-Gram negative) was investigated. The novel copper- and silver-based nanostructures were prepared separately by using nontoxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible biopolymers chitosan and guar gum-polyvinyl alcohol (GG-PVA), which were modified by inorganic phases SiO2 and sepiolite. On the other hand, guar gum-PVA (GG-PVA) was modified by sepiolite, and this nanostructure was prepared only for silver. Besides, Cu was dispersed in a different biopolymer chitosan by sonochemical method in the presence and absence of SiO2. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the surface chemistry and morphology of the core/shell nanostructure. Nanoscale zero-valent Cu (NZVCu) was found under thin CuO film according to the XPS results. SEM images showed that spherical Cu/CuO@SiO2 nanostructures (∼100 nm) were homogenously dispersed in the chitosan by using sonochemical method. Antibacterial property of the core-shell nanostructures was analyzed by well-diffusion method against Escherichia coli (E. coli-Gram negative). Cu/CuO@SiO2 nanostructures were found very effective against the E. coli due to high ratio of NZVCu in the nanostructure.

Part of the book: New Trends in Ion Exchange Studies