Chemical Synthesis of Copper Nanospheres and Nanocubes and Their Antibacterial Activity Against Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp.

Date

2016-11-24

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Type

Article

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

The interest in synthesising inorganic nanomaterials for biological applications has increased in recent years, especially for antibacterial purposes. In the present study, spherical and cube-shaped copper nanoparticles were synthesised by a chemical reduction method and their efficacy as antimicrobial agents against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Enterococcus sp.) organisms investigated. The nanoparticles were characterised using ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Copper nanocubes were found to be more antimicrobial when compared with copper nanospheres, and it is postulated that whilst both sets of nanoparticles have similar total surface areas, the different shapes have different active facets and surface energies, which may lead to differing bactericidal behaviour.

Description

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link. The fulltext can also be viewed at this link: http://rdcu.be/mVXD

Keywords

Copper nanoparticles, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Antibacterial, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus sp.

Citation

Alshareef, A., Laird, K. and Cross, R.B.M. (2016) Chemical Synthesis of Copper Nanospheres and Nanocubes and Their Antibacterial Activity Against Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 30 (1), pp. 29-35

Rights

Research Institute