Nanosilica Schiff-Base Copper(II) Complexes with Sustainable Antimicrobial Activity against Bacteria and Reduced Risk of Harm to Plant and Environment

摘要

The increasing frequency of using traditional copper-based bactericides has resulted in phytotoxicity to plants and heavy metal pollution to the environment. A novel formulation of copper bactericides with excellent environmental compatibility and high systemicity as well as safety and low toxicity is a preferred choice to improve excessive defects of traditional copper-based bactericides. Nanosilica Schiff-base copper(II) complexes (Silica-NMP-Cu) were prepared and evaluated in terms of their antimicrobial activity and toxicity. The results showed that, compared with Kocide, the Silica-NMP-Cu had excellent antimicrobial activity against four kinds of bacteria with reduced 54.3164.75% amount of copper and could move upward and downward freely in the plant with the water transportation as well as increase disease resistance by increasing the concentration of salicylic acid in plants, which could reduce the frequency of using copper-based bactericide. Application of the cucumber safety assessment and Allium cepa chromoson aberration assay demonstrated that the Silica-NMP-Cu was able to reduce the phytotoxicity and the genotoxicity of the copper. The drug delivery system developed offers an efficient way to control bacteria, as well as reduce the risk of harm to the plant and the environment.