Ag/ZnO-based Porous Nanocomposite as a Versatile Antibacterial Agent
Yuni Krisyuningsih Krisnandi (a,b*), Erlan Arlin (a,b), Conny Riani Tjampakasari (c)

(a) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Universitas Indonesia, Kampus UI Depok, Depok 16424, Indonesia
(b) Solid Inorganic Framework Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia
(c) Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Depok 1624, Indonesia
*Corresponding author- E-mail: yuni.krisnandi[at]sci.ui.ac.id

Abstract

Ag-based nanocomposite was synthesized by using Zn-metal-organic framework (Zn-MOF) as starting material. Carbonized ZnO-MOF (ZnO-MOFC) as nanoporous material was composited with microporous 13X zeolite which is in the possession of large surface area. ZnO-MOFC/13X composite was then decorated with AgNP as the fundamental antibacterial agent along with chitosan to assist its dispersion on the surface of the composite. The antibacterial properties were carried out by agar diffusion method on S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. A previous study of thin-film Ag/ZnO-based chitosan biopolymers shows that the average diameter of the inhibition zone of 16 mm and 14 mm on both S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. Furthermore, Zn-MOFC/13X/chitosan/AgNP composite exhibits outstanding antibacterial activity based on the average diameter of the inhibition zone of 14.5 mm and 11.5 mm on both S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. The results are comparable to Erythromycin and Vancomycin as antibiotics for E. coli and S. aureus giving the inhibition zone of 11.06 mm and 11.93 mm, respectively. To conclude, the antibacterial activity of Ag-ZnO is enhanced when supported by porous nanocomposites.

Keywords: antibacterial agent- AgNP- ZnO- metal-organic framework- porous carbon- zeolite

Topic: Materials Sciences: Synthetic and Characterization