A New DNA-Mediated Antibacterial Agent Magnetic (Fe3O4) Nanoparticles with Gold and Silver Functionalization

Abstract

By using a hydrothermal process, magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with gold and silver caps (Au, Ag)
were created, and their antibacterial activity was tested against S. aureus and E. coli .By using X-ray diffraction
(XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the functionalized nanoparticles were evaluated. The
functionalized Fe3O4-Au had an average size of (8-22) nm, whereas the Fe3O4-Ag had an average size in the range
of (4-16) nm. At room temperature, the Fe3O4-Au @ Fe3O4-Ag displayed superparamagnetic and strong saturation
magnetization. Using the agar well-diffusion technique, the antibacterial activity of the Fe3O4-Au and Fe3O4-Ag was
assessed against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The release technique was used to track alterations in
the morphology of the microorganisms under investigation. The outcomes demonstrated the effectiveness of
magnetic (Fe3O4) nanoparticles functionalized with gold and silver as a new DNA-mediated antibacterial agent. By
breaking through the bacterial membrane's cytoplasm and nucleic acid, Fe3O4-Au @ Fe3O4-Ag nanoparticles were
shown to kill bacteria by causing cell-wall integrity to be lost, increased cell wall permeability and damage to
nucleic acids.