Antibacterial Properties of Synthesized Ag and Ag@SiO2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles: A Comparative Study

Spherical bare silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silica coated silver nanoparticles (Ag@SiO2) have been prepared by one step chemical reduction method. The optical, structural and morphological studies were done by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The antibacterial effects of AgNP and Ag@SiO2 were further compared based on diameter of zone of inhibition and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test against B. subtilis AST5-2, S. aureus ATCC 25923, S. marcescens AL2-16, and K. pneumoniae AWD5. Enhanced antibacterial activities were observed for Ag@SiO2 core-shell NPs as compared to AgNPs against all tested bacteria. The results were attributed to the prolonged release of Ag (I) through porous silica shell that inhibits the growth of tested bacteria and also infers the possibility to be used in potential antibacterial applications.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author