Construction of silver nanoparticles anchored in carbonized bacterial cellulose with enhanced antibacterial properties

Carbon materials have been widely used in the field of water treatment. However, a drawback of this kind of materials is that bacteria breeding on their surface may deteriorate water quality. Herein, antibacterial carbonized bacterial cellulose (CBC) composites with well-dispersed silver nanoparticle were synthesized, using bacterial cellulose (BC) as inexpensive and abundant source of carbon. The formed composites (Ag@CBC) were characterized by various physicochemical characterization. The results showed that the Ag nanoparticle amount, surface and porous structure of the Ag@CBC were dependent on initial concentration of AgNO3 solution. As an antibacterial material, Ag@CBC samples exhibited excellent antibacterial activity. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of Ag@CBC with 1.9 % Ag such as 12 mu g/mL (against S. aureus) and 8 mu g/mL (against E. coli), which have very promising application in water purification.

Automated summary

Carbon materials are widely used in water treatment, but the breeding of bacteria on their surface can degrade water quality. In this study, antibacterial carbonized bacterial cellulose (CBC) composites with well-dispersed silver nanoparticles were synthesized using bacterial cellulose (BC) as a carbon source. The formed composites (Ag@CBC) showed excellent antibacterial activity with promising applications in water purification, exhibiting minimal inhibitory concentrations against S. aureus and E. coli.