Green Synthesis of Silver Nano-particles by Macrococcus bovicus and Its Immobilization onto Montmorillonite Clay for Antimicrobial Functionality

Macrococcus bovicus was locally isolated from soil and used in the green synthesis of nano-scaling silver (NSAg). It was immobilized on a sodic-montmorillonite clay (MMT1) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-modified montmorillonite (MMT2) which was also calcined at 300 A degrees C (MMT3). The NSAg clays were characterized by X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffractometry, surface area measurement, UV-Vis spectrometry, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and thermogravimetric analysis. NSAg was confirmed to be included in the interparticular cavities of the clay sheets and its mechanical stability was evidenced. The antimicrobial activity of the NSAg-modified clays was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans using the cup plate and the plate count techniques. The antimicrobial activity of the NSAg clays was confirmed and attributed to the caging of NSAg in MMT cavities. MMT3 was found to inhibit the microbial growth to as high as 65 % as observed from the plate count method.