Authors : Mansor Bin Ahmad, Majid Darroudi, Kamyar Shameli, Abdul Halim Abdullah, Nor Azowa Ibrahim, Azizah Abdul Hamid and Mohsen Zargar
Abstract: Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were successfully synthesized into the interlayer space of Montmorillonite (MMT) by UV-irradiation method. AgNO3 and Montmorillonite (MMT) were used as a silver precursor and solid support, respectively. The properties of Ag/MMT nanocomposites were studied as a function of UV-irradiation time. UV-irradiation disintegrated the Ag NPs into smaller size until a relatively stable size and size distribution were achieved. The UV-vis spectra of synthesized Ag-NPs showed that the intensity of the maximum wavelength of the plasmon peaks increased with increasing UV-irradiation time. The synthesized Ag/MMT nanocomposites under longer UV irradiation time are very stable over a long time in aqueous solution without any sign of agglomeration or precipitants. The crystalline structure of the Ag-NPs and basal spacing of MMT and Ag/MMT were also studied by Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD). The antibacterial activity of Ag-NPs was investigated against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)) by disk diffusion method using Muller-Hinton Agar (MHA) at different sizes of Ag-NPs. All of synthesized Ag-NPs were found to have high antibacterial activity. These results showed that Ag-NPs can be useful in different biomedical research and applications such as diagnostic and surgical devices, contrast agents, drug delivery vehicles and physical therapy applications.
Mansor Bin Ahmad, Majid Darroudi, Kamyar Shameli, Abdul Halim Abdullah, Nor Azowa Ibrahim, Azizah Abdul Hamid and Mohsen Zargar, 2009. Antibacterial Effect of Synthesized Silver/Montmorillonite Nanocomposites by UV-Irradiation Method. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 4: 1056-1060.