The Antimicrobial Activity of Silicon Copper Nanoparticles

Excessive overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of mutations within bacteria that result in drug resistance. In an effort to combat the expanding issue of drug resistance, nanoparticles\u27 bactericidal capabilities are being researched as an alternative to antibiotics (Beyth, 2015). In this paper, research to explore a novel silicon copper nanoparticle\u27s antimicrobial capabilities will be discussed. The novel nanoparticle was developed by West Chester University professor, Dr. Kolasinski. The specific research goals were to determine the time and dose dependency of the nanoparticles and investigate the antimicrobial spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and viruses. Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) were treated with 1 milligram and 10 milligrams of nanoparticle material for various time intervals to assess the amount of bacterial colony inhibition caused by each exposure time and dosage. It was observed that inhibition levels were highly time and dose-dependent. Further, S. aureus was found to be more susceptible to the nanoparticle treatment than E. coli. This research provides further supporting evidence of nanoparticle bactericidal efficacy and encourages the future utilization of nanoparticles as an antimicrobial substitution for antibiotic treatment