The antimicrobial effects of silver nanoparticles were studied. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized through wet chemistry method, and were dispersed in aqueous suspension. With nanoscale silica particles served as heterogeneous nucleation sites, silver nanoparticles were formed anchoring on the silica surface. Suspensions were found to be stable at high silver concentrations as well as over a broad pH range. By varying the processing conditions, diameter of the silver nanoparticles could be controlled between ~2 nm to ~25 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to reveal the formation and the corresponding morphology of the silver-silica coupling nanoparticles. Ultra-violet visible (UV-vis) scanning spectrophotometer was used to detecting the distinct absorption spectrum of silver nanoparticles. The antimicrobial activities of these silver-silica coupling nanoparticles were investigated. E. coli and S aureus were used as representatives of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. Bacteriological tests showed either bacterial growth inhibition or cell death occurred, corresponding to different concentrations of silver nanoparticles and the type of bacteria that were testing on. Fluorescent microscopic images were also provided to confirm the bacterial viability after several hours' treatment with silver nanoparticles. / Master of Science
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31915 |
| Date | 04 August 2008 |
| Creators | Lei, Guangyin |
| Contributors | Materials Science and Engineering, Lu, Guo-Quan, Yang, Zhaomin, Meehan, Kathleen |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | Synthesis_of_Nano-Silver_Colloids_and_Their_Anti-Microbial_Effects.pdf |
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