Antibacterial Effects of Copper Microparticles/Copper Nanoparticles/Copper(II) Oxide Nanoparticles and Copper Microparticles/Copper Nanoparticles/Copper(I) Oxide Nanoparticles from Ultrasono-Electrochemical with Hydrothermal Assisted Synthesis Method

Abstract

Copper is a versatile metal with various properties, including antibacterial effects. There are many methods to produce nano-enhanced copper. In this study, we explore the ultrasono-electrochemical with hydrothermal assisted method to produce copper/copper oxides nanoparticles by using ultrasono-electrochemical process to produce copper micro/nano particles, ultrasonication process to produce copper oxide nanoparticles and hydrothermal process to produce cuprous oxide nanoparticles. Antibacterial properties of the produced particles were tested by conventional bacterial identification test and conventional total viable count test using 4 standard bacteria: Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. The results show that ultrasono-electrochemical method can produce high purity copper micro and nano particles with zero oxidation with the average size of 575 and 118 nm, ultrasonication process can produce copper oxide nanoparticles on copper microparticle and nanoparticle surfaces with the average size of 56 nm, and hydrothermal process can produce cuprous oxide nanoparticles on copper microparticle and nanoparticle surfaces with the average size of 50 nm. All particles with concentration of 0.5 mmol/ml are highly effective as antibacterial agents against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Copper oxide nanoparticles are effective against Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, while cuprous oxide nanoparticles are highly effective against all 4 species of bacteria, at over 99.17%.