Efficiency of Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nano/Microsized Copper and Study on In Vitro Antifungal Activity

Abstract

In this study, the synthesis and characterization of copper nano/microparticles in the presence of (2,2′,2″,2″′-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(azanetriyl))tetraacetohydrazide) as a capping and reducing agent under hydrothermal conditions for use in biological conditions were investigated. The effects of reductant ligand/copper ion, concentration ratios, reaction temperatures, and reaction time on the various morphologies of copper nano/microparticles were studied. The obtained particles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum analysis (EDAX), and zeta potential analysis. Further, the formation of particles with different morphologies was confirmed. The biological and antifungal effects of these selected particles were compared with those of the Bordeaux mixture. Experiments were conducted on Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani, and Fusarium expansum as three types of phytopathogenic fungi and Penicilliums as a non-phytopathogenic fungus. The results obtained showed that not only were the nano/microparticles more effective than Bordeaux mixture in killing phytopathogenic fungi, but also these particles did not have a fungicidal effect on the non-phytopathogenic fungus, Penicillium, which is an advantage of the obtained nano/microparticles.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Antifungal
• Electron microscopy
• Hydrothermal
• Morphology
• Nanoparticles

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) in producing synthesized EDDH. The authors would also like to express their gratitude to Dr. Ali Mahmoudi, Dr. Saeed Dehghanpour, and Dr. Khodadad Nazari for their practical assistance. Thanks are also due to our English editor Abolhassan Tajfar for his assistance with the manuscript.

Notes

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/lmmp.