Novel Carboxylic Acid-Capped Silver Nanoparticles as Antimicrobial and Colorimetric Sensing Agents

Muhammad Imran Irfan; Fareeha Amjad; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Fayyaz Ur Rehman; Fariha Kanwal; Muhammad Saeed; Sami Ullah; Changrui Lu

doi:10.3390/molecules27113363

Novel Carboxylic Acid-Capped Silver Nanoparticles as Antimicrobial and Colorimetric Sensing Agents

Molecules. 2022 May 24;27(11):3363. doi: 10.3390/molecules27113363.

Authors

Muhammad Imran Irfan^{1

2}, Fareeha Amjad², Azhar Abbas^{2

3}, Muhammad Fayyaz Ur Rehman², Fariha Kanwal⁴, Muhammad Saeed⁵, Sami Ullah², Changrui Lu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
² Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan.
³ Department of Chemistry, Government Ambala Muslim Graduate College, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan.
⁴ Med-X Research Institute, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 201620, China.
⁵ Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, SBA School of Science and Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore 54792, Pakistan.

Abstract

The present work reports the synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial activities of adipic acid-capped silver nanoparticles (AgNPs@AA) and their utilization for selective detection of Hg²⁺ ions in an aqueous solution. The AgNPs were synthesized by the reduction of Ag⁺ ions with NaBH₄ followed by capping with adipic acid. Characterization of as-synthesized AgNPs@AA was carried out by different techniques, including UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and zeta potential (ZP). In the UV-Vis absorption spectrum, the characteristic absorption band for AgNPs was observed at 404 nm. The hydrodynamic size of as-synthesized AgNPs was found to be 30 ± 5.0 nm. ZP values (-35.5 ± 2.4 mV) showed that NPs possessed a negative charge due to carboxylate ions and were electrostatically stabilized. The AgNPs show potential antimicrobial activity against clinically isolated pathogens. These AgNPs were found to be selectively interacting with Hg²⁺ in an aqueous solution at various concentrations. A calibration curve was constructed by plotting concentration as abscissa and absorbance ratio (A_Control - A_Hg/A_Control) as ordinate. The linear range and limit of detection (LOD) of Hg²⁺ were 0.6-1.6 μM and 0.12 μM, respectively. A rapid response time of 4 min was found for the detection of Hg²⁺ by the nano-probe. The effect of pH and temperature on the detection of Hg²⁺ was also investigated. The nano-probe was successfully applied for the detection of Hg²⁺ from tap and river water.

Keywords: AgNPs@AA; XDR typhoid; antimicrobials; colorimetric sensing; mercury; nanoparticles.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Anti-Infective Agents* / pharmacology
Carboxylic Acids
Colorimetry
Mercury*
Metal Nanoparticles* / chemistry
Plant Extracts / chemistry
Silver / chemistry
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Carboxylic Acids
Plant Extracts
Silver
Mercury

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (19ZR1471100), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (19D210501, 19D310517). M.F.u.R. is thankful to HEC, Pakistan, for providing funding (grant number 20-16648) under the NRPU program.