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Improving water treatment using a novel antibacterial kappa-carrageenan–coated magnetite decorated with silver nanoparticles

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Abstract

In this study, we aimed to fabricate an enhanced antibacterial agent to act against pathogenic bacteria in aqueous environments. To achieve this, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were inlaid on a kappa-carrageenan (KC) base and coated on Fe3O4 magnetic cores (Fe3O4@KC@Ag). Superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were designed at the center of the composite nanostructure, allowing magnetic recovery from aqueous media in the presence of a magnet. The synthesized nanoconjugate was characterized in each step using XRD, FT-IR, EDX, FE-SEM, TEM, DLS, VSM, and disk-diffusion antibacterial method. Results show that the nanocomposite system is formed, while the magnetic properties remain practically stable. The agglomeration of the AgNPs was decreased by the trap-like function of KC coating, which resulted in an improved antibacterial activity for the Fe3O4@KC@Ag formulation. These findings suggest that Fe3O4@KC@Ag nanocomposites could be promising agents for combating bacterial infections in aqueous environments.

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Data availability

The data and materials supporting the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology and Research Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering for supporting this work.

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (RINAM) at Isfahan University of Technology, Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156, Isfahan, 83111, Iran

    Ali Seraj, Fathallah Karimzadeh & Arian Valikhani

  2. Research Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156, Isfahan, 83111, Iran

    Alireza Allafchian & Fathallah Karimzadeh

  3. Research Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156, Isfahan, 83111, Iran

    Alireza Allafchian & Seyed Amir Hossein Jalali

  4. Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156, Isfahan, 83111, Iran

    Seyed Amir Hossein Jalali

Authors
  1. Ali Seraj
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  2. Alireza Allafchian
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  3. Fathallah Karimzadeh
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  4. Arian Valikhani
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  5. Seyed Amir Hossein Jalali
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Contributions

Ali Seraj: methodology, investigation, formal analysis, visualization, writing — original draft; Ali Reza Allafchian: project administration, supervision, conceptualization, writing — review and editing, resources; Fathallah Karimzadeh: supervision, conceptualization, writing — review and editing, resources; Arian Valikhani: methodology, investigation, formal analysis, visualization; Seyed Amir Hossein Jalali: supervision, conceptualization, writing — review and editing, resources.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alireza Allafchian.

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Highlights

• Rapid three-step synthesis of magnetic Fe3O4@kappa-carrageenan@Ag nanocomposite was fabricated.

• The presence of KC in the nanocomposite significantly enhanced the antibacterial function of AgNPs, resulting in a nanocomposite with a distinguishably higher bactericidal activity.

• Fe3O4@KC@Ag nanocomposite could be offer as an efficient and cost-effective platform for improving water treatment, which is a major public health concern worldwide.

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Seraj, ., Allafchian, A., Karimzadeh, F. et al. Improving water treatment using a novel antibacterial kappa-carrageenan–coated magnetite decorated with silver nanoparticles. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 92611–92620 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28804-2

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