Antibacterial performance of Co–Zn ferritenanoparticles under visible light irradiation

BACKGROUND: To address water scarcity and promote sustainable resource management, more efficient and cost-effectivewater treatment solutions are necessary. Particularly, pathogens in drinking water are a topic of growing concern. One prom-ising technology is the use of photocatalytic nanoparticles a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gascón Fernández Gubieda, Alicia, Abad Díaz de Cerio, Ana, García Prieto, Ana, Fernández Gubieda Ruiz, María Luisa, Cervera Gabalda, Laura, Ordoqui Huesa, Eduardo, Cornejo, Alfonso, Gómez Polo, Cristina
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/71502
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/71502
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Co–Zn ferrites
photocatalytic nanoparticles
antibacterial nanoparticles
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: To address water scarcity and promote sustainable resource management, more efficient and cost-effectivewater treatment solutions are necessary. Particularly, pathogens in drinking water are a topic of growing concern. One prom-ising technology is the use of photocatalytic nanoparticles activated by visible light as antibacterial agents. This study focuseson the characterization and antibacterial properties of Co–Zn ferrite nanocatalysts, tested against Escherichia coli.RESULTS: The CoxZn1−xFe2 O4 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.4 and 0.6) ferrites were synthesized by the co-precipitation method. Structural, mor-phological and optical analyses confirmed that these nanoparticles have a cubic spinel structure, with sizes of around 10 nm,and band gap energies suitable for visible light activation (1.4–1.7 eV). The antibacterial efficacy of the nanoparticles againstE. coli was tested and compared with their photocatalytic performance employing phenol as organic pollutant model (highestphenol degradation for x = 0.6). Specifically, the antibacterial capacity of these nanoparticles was evaluated by comparing theability of bacteria to grow after being incubated with the nanoparticles under visible light and in the dark. It was found thatnanoparticles with lower cobalt content (x = 0 and 0.1) significantly reduced bacterial culturability under visible light. Trans-mission Electron Microscopy analysis revealed that nanoparticles with cobalt content caused bacteria to secrete biofilm, poten-tially offering some protection against the nanoparticles.CONCLUSION: ZnFe 2 O4 nanoparticles show the highest antibacterial effect amongst those tested. This is attributed to the com-bined action of Zn 2+ ion release and the photocatalytic effect under visible light. Furthermore, Zn might inhibit protective bio-film secretion, leading to higher antibacterial effects.© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Soci-ety of Chemical Industry (SCI).