One pot synthesis of PMMA/silver nanoparticles and its antibacterial properties

Abstract

Silver, Ag nanoparticles were prepared via one-pot reduction method with two different reducing agents of aniline and NaBH4 whereby the effect of different factors such as the order of mixing the reactants, presence of a stabilizer and time on stability, size and concentration of the silver nanoparticles were studied using UV-Vis. The resulted colloidal Ag was then incorporated into poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA nanoparticles through miniemulsion. The obtained products were characterized with UV-Vis DR and TEM to investigate the presence of Ag in the samples and study its morphology. The occurrence of the polymerization was analyzed with FTIR and 1HNMR and the antibacterial activity of the samples was tested via Kirby-Bauer method. Results confirmed the successful synthesis of PMMA/Ag nanoparticles and measurements of the clear zone of inhibition from antimicrobial tests showed that by increasing the concentration of the Ag nanoparticles in the samples, the antibacterial activity was increased.