Antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles capped by p-aminobenzoic acid on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

This paper describes the antibacterial performance of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) which have been synthesized by using p-aminobenzoic acid as a reducing and stabilizing agent simultaneously. The silver nitrate with various concentrations was reacted with pH 11-adjusted p-aminobenzoic acid with a concentration of 5 × 10–3 mol L–1 for 30 min in a boiling water bath. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and Particle Size Analyzer (PSA). The antibacterial performance of the synthesized AgNPs was evaluated by agar well diffusion method on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The higher silver nitrate concentration, the bigger the nanoparticle size, the wider particle size distribution, and the higher number of AgNPs formed. AgNPs synthesized from higher silver nitrate concentration had higher antibacterial activity. It is an indication that the antibacterial activity of AgNPs is mainly controlled by the silver ion concentration which influences the AgNPs particle size and the existence of silver ion in the AgNPs colloidal solution.