Green Synthesis of Ag NP-Decorated Poly(dopamine) Microcapsules for Antibacterial Applications

摘要

The ability to synthesize Ag nanoparticle-based composites under gentle conditions shows the promise to produce versatile antimicrobial agents. Herein, we report a green method for the synthesis of Ag NP-decorated poly(dopamine) (Ag NP-PDA) microcapsules. The synthesis involves the use of ZIF-8 crystals as self-sacrificed templates to produce PDA microcapsules followed by in situ reduction of Ag+ to Ag-0 to form Ag NPs with catechol groups of the PDA microcapsules. The formation mechanism is supported by the results from transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We show that the as-prepared Ag NP-PDA microcapsule composites exhibit low cytotoxicity towards L929 cells but effective antimicrobial activity towards both E. coli and S. aureus. These results suggest the possibility of our method to prepare combined nanocomposite antimicrobial agents by loading additional antibiotics on the surface or into the microcapsule of the PDA support.