An investigation on the synergistic effect of Cu2O-Ag nanoparticle on its bactericidal and anticancerous properties

Abstract

Copper and silver are known to have good antibacterial and anti-fungal properties at nanoscale. Cu2O-Ag synthesis was attempted using hydrazine hydrate reduction method. The formation of Cu2O-Ag nanoparticles was confirmed using powder X-ray diffraction technique. Further the morphology and elemental compositions were analyzed by FESEM, HRTEM and XRF techniques. The antibacterial activity of the formed nanoparticles exhibited an excellent zone of inhibition compared to the existing antibiotics. The microbial broth curve obtained against Pseudomonas aeruginosa further confirmed the remarkable inhibiting property of the nanoparticle in a short span of 6 h post treatment (HPT). The synthesized nanoparticle showed very good activity against HCT-15 colon cancer cells by inhibiting their viability up to 27% when treated at higher concentration. Thus the synthesized nanoparticles seem to be a good candidate for various biological applications.