Electrosynthetized copper based nanoantimicrobials for the inhibition of biofilms

S. I. Hossain1,3,*, M. C. Sportelli1,2,3, R. A. Picca1,3, N. Ditaranto 1,3, N. Cioffi1,3 1Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy; 2CNR, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie UOS, Bari, Italy; 3CSGI (Center for Colloid and Surface Science) c/o Dept. Chemistry, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy. Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) are considered as potential antimicrobial agents due to their improved stability and safety, and longer active period than that of organic nanomaterials, with multi-targeted mechanism of action [1]. Nevertheless, metal NPs can suffer from agglomeration, reducing their antibacterial activity [2]. Cu incorporation in inorganic substrates such as metal oxides or montmorillonite (MMT) plays an important role due to the possibilities of creating an antibacterial nanomaterial with slow release of Cu species in order to obtain a prolonged antibacterial activity. Therefore, CuNPs were synthesized via a rapid electrochemical method using the inorganic micro-powders as carrier. Characterization studies on the nanocomposite were done by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The as-prepared Cu-based nanocomposites could be employed for inhibiting the growth of biofilms. References Nanotechnology 25, (2014), 135101 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 4, (2012), 178–184 Acknowledgements "Financial support is acknowledged from European Union’s 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 813439."