Silver impregnated bacterial cellulose-chitosan composite hydrogels for antibacterial and catalytic applications
Yasir Anwar, Mazhar Ul‐Islam, Hani S. H. Mohammed Ali, Ihsan Ullah, Ashi Khalil, Tahseen Kamal
Abstract
The current study was aimed to develop bacterial cellulose (BC) composites synergistically with polymer (Chitosan (chi)) and a nanomaterial (green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using an Azadirachta indica leaves extract). BC-Chi-Ag composites were developed through ex-situ composite development strategy and evaluated for their structural, biological and catalytic activities. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) displayed the impregnation of Chi and AgNPs in porous BC network. The composite formulation was further confirmed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis which showed the presence of additional crystallinic peaks together with pure BC ones. Bactericidal assays of BC-Chi-Ag composites against modern pathogen including Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli depicted significant reduction in growth results compared to pure BC. Kapp value were found to be 0.37081 min−1 and 0.35108 min−1 for catalytic reduction of Rh B and 4-NP, respectively. High bactericidal and catalytic potentials of synthesized BC-Chi-Ag composites seriously justify their potential applications in medical and environmental fields.