Recyclable and stable silver deposited magnetic nanoparticles with poly (vinyl pyrrolidone)-catechol coated iron oxide for antimicrobial activity.

This paper introduces a facile method to make highly stable and recyclable antimicrobial magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). Initially, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were coated with poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) conjugated catechol (PVP-CCDP). Afterward, silver nanoparticles (Ag(0)) were deposited onto PVP-CCDP coated IONPs using remain catechol. The prepared nanoparticles showed long term (~4 weeks) colloidal stability and redispersibility, respectively, against external magnetic field and over a broad range of pH (4-12). The NPs were characterized by UV-vis, SEM, XPS, and XRD measurements. TEM and DLS analyses showed that the mean particle size of PVP-CCDP coated IONPs/Ag(0) were about 72 nm. The recyclable magnetic NPs possessed a high antibacterial effect against the model microbes Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and could be separated easily using magnet following antibacterial test for repeated uses and maintained 100% antibacterial efficiency during three cycles. In MTT assay, the magnetic nanoparticles possessed no measureable cytotoxicity to live cells.