Antibacterial cotton fabrics with in situ generated silver and copper bimetallic nanoparticles using red sanders powder extract as reducing agent

Using aqueous extraction of red sanders powder as a reducing agent, silver and copper bimetallic nanoparticles were in situ generated in cotton fabrics. Silver and copper nanoparticles were also generated separately for comparison. The resulted nanocomposite cotton fabrics (NCFs) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and antibacterial tests. SEM analysis indicated the generation of more number of nanoparticles when bimetallic source solutions were used. Further, the size range of the generated bimetallic nanoparticles was found to be lower than when individual metal nanoparticles were generated in NCFs. XRD analysis confirmed the in situ generation of silver and copper nanoparticles when equimolar bimetallic salt source solutions were utilized. The NCFs with bimetallic nanoparticles exhibited higher antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and hence can be considered for applications as antibacterial bed and dressing materials.