ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Green-microfluidics synthesis of thermally stable silver–chitosan composites for antibacterial activity

Saima Rafique, Shazia Bashir, Rizwan Akram, Aqdas Mehmood, Jan Sher Khan, Zeenat Haq, and Muhammad Idrees

Department of Physics, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan

E-mail: saima.rafique@mail.au.edu.pk

Received: 8 November 2021  Accepted: 18 February 2022

Abstract:

In the present work, silver–chitosan composites were synthesized by a green microfluidics approach. These composites were optimized by concentrations of precursors, flow rate, green agents, i.e., glucose, glucose with NaOH, sucrose, starch, and maltose. The silver–chitosan composites were structurally and morphologically characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) carried out up to 600 °C along with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy was also carried out for thermal stability and successful synthesis of silver–chitosan composites. The auger well diffusion method was performed to study the antibacterial activity of the synthesized silver–chitosan composites. The antibacterial experiments showed that the composite had excellent and wide spectrum antibacterial properties against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The maximum zone of inhibition was 14 mm obtained against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results confer that the microfluidic system plays an important role in the formation of silver–chitosan composites that could effectively kill the bacteria.

Keywords: Silver–chitosan composites; Starch; Maltose; Glucose; Composite stability; Antibacterial effect

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02144-w

Chemical Papers 76 (6) 3879–3889 (2022)