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Abstract
Bacterial infections are an increasing public health concern. Each year, forty-eight million people get sick from a foodborne illness, from which three thousand people die, as estimated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)[1]. In this context, attention has increased on the production of novel nanoparticle-based materials with effective antimicrobial properties. The use of nano-sized silver and its alloys represents an interesting alternative to common food preservation methods. However, common methods used for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles (NPs) require a multi-step approach and the use of toxic solvents and reagents[2]. Our synthesis method was conductive to the formation of the isolated metallic nanoparticles in a single step, in just 2 min at 175oC, using a modified polyol (ethylene glycol) method and a microwave heating route. We have successfully synthetized spherical silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles with a crystallite size of less than 10 nm as well as irregular silver-copper (AgCu) nanoalloys with a crystallite size of less than 15 nm, as confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction and HRTEM. The synthesis of AgCu nanoalloys was confirmed using EDS mapping technique that evidenced a 51.74% of copper and 48.26% of silver atomic percent composition. The AgNPs and AgCu nanoalloys exhibited more stability in suspension, in comparison to CuNPs, as observed by monitoring absorbance by UV-vis spectroscopy over a period of 12 days. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of AgNPs, CuNPs and AgCu nanoalloys in presence of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium were determined. The obtained MIC and MBC results show that AgCu nanoalloys are more effective in inhibiting the growth of the studied microorganisms.
Keywords: foodborne illness, nanoalloy, silver, copper, nanoparticles, antimicrobial properties.
References:
[1] “Annual Summaries of Foodborne Outbreaks | Foodborne Outbreak Surveillance System | Food Safety | CDC.” [Online]. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/fdoss/annual-reports/index.html. [Accessed: 22-Jun-2020].
[2] A. Khezerlou, M. Alizadeh-Sani, M. Azizi-Lalabadi, and A. Ehsani, “Nanoparticles and their antimicrobial properties against pathogens including bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses,” Microb. Pathog., vol. 123, no. February, pp. 505–526, 2018.
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