title: Smart copper oxide nanocrystals: synthesis, characterization, electrochemical and potent antibacterial activity.
abstract: We report herein the synthesis and characterization of novel CuO nanocrystals and their electrochemical and potent antibacterial activity. The utilized CuO nanocrystals were prepared by wet chemical method using copper acetate and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) as precursors. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized CuO nanocrystals having size ~6 nm were determined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultra violet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The antibacterial study was carried out by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using E. coli as model organism. The MIC of the CuO nanocrystals was found to be 2.5 μg/ml and the TEM analysis reveals that CuO nanocrystals caused disturbance to the cell wall which led to the irreversible damage to the cell envelope eventually leading to cell death. Furthermore, mechanism of bactericidal action of novel CuO nanocrystals is discussed in the light of our findings. Additionally, the synthesized CuO nanocrystals were applied as electrode material for supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of CuO nanocrystals measured at a potential scan rate of 5 mV/s was as high as 164.9 F g(-1).
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic Materials and Fiber Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: M Shamshi
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Touseef
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amna
authors.forename: O-Bong
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Mohamed H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: El-Newehy
authors.forename: Salem S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Al-Deyab
authors.forename: Myung-Seob
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Khil
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004563:Electrochemistry; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003300:Copper; C000520:cuprous oxide