Mechanochemical synthesis and antibacterial effect of CuBi2O4 nanoparticles against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus

Abstract

Abstract Nanoparticles (NPs) of CuBi2O4 with an average size around 25 nm were obtained by a novel and eco-friendly synthesis method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) reveal that CuBi2O4 NPs possess a tetragonal crystal structure. These NPs were characterised by Raman scattering, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption, photoluminescence (PL), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. Furthermore, an in vitro study of the antibacterial effect of CuBi2O4 NPs against two bacterial strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 43636) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), was carried out. The results obtained from the counting of colony-forming units (CFUs) and by the XTT-PMS cell viability assay showed an inhibition of the bacterial growth by 88%–87% for P. aeruginosa and 100% for S. aureus, at 50 mg ml−1 of NPs concentration. The results of this work suggest that these nanoparticles have the potential to be used as antibacterial agents by embedding them into different surfaces or being dispersed in a coating, to prevent the bacterial colonisation.