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Corn cob silica as an antibacterial support for silver nanoparticles: efficacy on Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes

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Abstract

There is great potential to combine bioresource and recycled materials with nanotechnology for industrial and environmental applications. In a novel approach, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were imbedded on amine-functionalized silica obtained from corn cob (ACCS) to produce a composite material that can be used to inactivate bacteria. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images show near-uniform ACCS particles (34.7 ± 8.6 nm diameter), with Ag NPs (5–10 nm diameter) homogenously dispersed on the surfaces. The potential of ACCS-Ag NPs to rapidly inactivate gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and gram-positive Listeria monocytogenes was investigated. A four-log (> 99.99%) inactivation of the E. coli was achieved within 30 min with 4 mg of ACCS-Ag NPs in a 40-mL PBS suspension (1 × 105 CFU/mL). Extended exposure of ACCS-Ag NP may be required to inactivate L. monocytogenes, suggesting the ACCS-Ag NP composite will be less practical for gram-positive bacteria due to thick cell wall and alternative formulations may need to be developed. Result shows that the potential of corn cob silica as an alternative, eco-friendly support matrix for applications such as bacterial inactivation. The Ag-imbedded, amine-functionalized corn cob silica demonstrates how bio-waste can be combined with nanotechnology to produce useful materials.

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Acknowledgements

MK thanks WARI fellowship during which he visited UNL and participated.

Funding

This project was supported by funds from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in association with USDA multistate project W2082, USGS 104b grant no. 2015NE269B, and by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the government (MEST; no. 2011-0020202).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environment and Bioscience, Chonbuk National University, Iksan, Jeonbuk, 570-752, South Korea

    Jaehong Shim

  2. Center for Environmental, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam, 781039, India

    Payal Mazumder

  3. Discipline of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Room No. 336A, Block 5, Gujrat, 382355, India

    Manish Kumar

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  1. Jaehong Shim
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  2. Payal Mazumder
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Correspondence to Manish Kumar.

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Shim, J., Mazumder, P. & Kumar, M. Corn cob silica as an antibacterial support for silver nanoparticles: efficacy on Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. Environ Monit Assess 190, 583 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6954-2

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