The rising global prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is driving the quest for new medical technologies offering alternative solutions to preventing the spread of hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and MDR-TB. Recent breakthroughs in nanotechnologies now provide powerful tools to engineer materials possessing well-defined structural, electronic and chemical properties which have found application across the physical, biological and health sciences. Silver has also long been noted for its potent bactericidal nature, and efficacy in preventing biofilm accumulation in medical devices and assisting wound healing in burns victims. Here we report on the synthesis and antibacterial screening of silver-silica nanocomposites comprising core-shell architectures, in which the porous ceramic shell permits tunable silver release rates. Monodispersed, metallic silver nanoparticles have been synthesised encapsulated within amorphous silica shells via a reverse micelle microreactor method, with core diameters controlled by the water :surfactant ratio (Figure X). Structural properties of the silica shell are also tunable, with the diameter a strong function of tetraethyl orthoxysilicate precursor:surfactant ratio during the synthesis, and porosity dependent upon post-synthetic etching protocols. The resulting Ag@SiO2 nanocomposites have been characterised by bulk and surface techniques, including X-ray diffraction, TEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen porosimetry, and their antibacterial activity assayed against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Ag@SiO<sub>2</sub> core-shell nanocomposites as antimicrobial additives for wound dressings

246th National Meeting (2013)

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Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanocomposites as antimicrobial additives for wound dressings

Ag@SiO₂ core-shell nanocomposites as antimicrobial additives for wound dressings