Antibacterial activity of nanozeolite doped with silver and titanium nanoparticles

Nowadays, microorganisms have been developing multidrug resistance, imposing a threat to the treatment of infections and increasing costs associated with health care systems. Moreover, these bacteria are responsible for several deaths worldwide. Nanocomposite consisting of metallic nanoparticles supported onto nanozeolites have been promising in the stabilization of nanoparticles and enhancement of the application of the antibacterial agent, resulting in a lesser extent of nanoparticle agglomeration and surface energy reduction. In this context, the present work aims to synthesize and characterize nanocomposites doping with silver (AgNPs @NZ-180) and titanium (TiNPs @NZ-180) nanoparticles. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and zeta potential (ZP), respectively. Antibacterial activity of the nanocomposites was verified by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination against four bacterial strains. Results suggest that nanocomposites showed the regular shape and mesoporous structure, high purity, physio-chemical stability, and good dispersion of AgNPs and TiNPs on the support. FT-IR spectra showed some specific stretching such as was identified, such as Al-O, Si-O, TiO-O, Ag-O, Ti-O, and AgO-O stretching, confirming the successful incorporation of AgNPs and TiNPs. XRD diffractograms showed characteristic peaks of analcime structure, a type of nanozeolite with silver (2 circle minus = 33.26 degrees and 47.88 degrees) and titanium nanoparticles peaks (2 circle minus = 24.17 degrees, 25.86, 47.59 degrees and 52.28 degrees). Moreover, all samples represented negative charge surface ranged between -29.69 +/- 1.27 mV until -14.65 +/- 6.14 mV. Moreover, AgNPs @NZ-180 showed antibacterial activity against all bacteria tested (K pneumoniae, E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa) at 250 mu g mL(-1) by MIC method, while TiNPs @NZ-180 did not show antibacterial activity in all procedures performed (<500 mu g mL(-1)), indicating that AgNPs have relevance on the antibacterial activity for the nanocomposite. Therefore, nanocomposite with polymeric matrix of nanozeolite (NZ-180) incorporated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have potential medical applicability as a promising antimicrobial agent, using a simple and low-cost method, correlating nanomedicine as nanostructured materials. [GRAPHICS] .