Contact Mechanism of the Ag-doped Trimolybdate Nanowire as An Antimicrobial Agent

Antibacterial Ag-agents are intensively applied as broad spectrum, high-stability, high-efficiency and high-safety inorganic antibacterial agents. We have developed a new kind of antibacterial Ag-agent, namely Ag2-x(NH4)(x)Mo3O10 center dot 3H(2)O nanowires (NWs). Carrying Ag atoms in the lattice and Ag-rich nanoparticles on the surface, the Ag-doped NWs show strong antibacterial effects for a variety of bacteria including E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. By performing systematic comparison experiments, we have proven than the main antibacterial effects are neither resulted from the tiny amount of Ag+ ions released from the Ag-doped NWs in aqueous solutions, nor resulted from Ag-rich nanoparticles of fragments of the NWs when they are slowly dissolved in the Martin broth. Instead, the effects are mainly resulted from a contact mechanism, under which, the Ag-doped NWs need to be physically in contact with the bacteria to be eliminated. This is a novel phenomenon observed in the interactions between nanomaterials and live cells, which is worthy of further investigation at the molecular scale. As the Ag-doped NWs are not dissolved in pure water or weak acids, one may find practical antibacterial applications in textile industry and food storage industry for these unique nanomaterials.