Hydrothermal synthesis of antibacterial silver@cuprous oxide core-shell/hydroxyapatite (Ag@Cu₂O/HAp) hetero-nanohybrids

ABSTRACT

In the present work, we examined the antibacterial activity of novel silver@cuprous oxide core-shell/hydroxyapatite (Ag@Cu₂O/HAp) hetero-nanohybrids against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria. The hydrothermal technique was used to easily synthesise Ag@Cu₂O/HAp core-shell nanohybrid structures. Immobilisation of Ag@Cu₂O core shells on HAp nanoparticles was done by controlling the relative concentrations of Ag, Cu₂O, and HAp. The Ag@Cu₂O/HAp nanohybrids were characterised using XRD, FTIR, Raman, UV-vis, SEM, EDX, TEM, and SAED methods. By observing the growth of S. aureus and E. coli populations in the presence and absence of Ag, Ag@Cu₂O, HAp, and Ag@Cu₂O/HAp nanoparticles, their antibacterial impact was compared. MIC Alamar Blue assay was performed to study the cytotoxicity of Ag@Cu₂O/HAp nanomaterials. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) studies were conducted to understand the type of active species produced under light and dark conditions. The possible photochemical and antibacterial mechanisms of the Ag@Cu₂O/HAp nanohybrids against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria were proposed. In addition, the promising antibacterial nature of Ag@Cu₂O/HAp materials suggests that they are good candidates for industrial and biomedical applications.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Ag@Cu₂O core shells
• hydroxyapatite
• nanohybrids
• hydrothermal
• antibacterial

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Department of Materials Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu 610005, India for providing the necessary facilities to complete the current work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).