Facile synthesis of gold nanoparticles on propylamine functionalized SBA-15 and effect of surface functionality of its enhanced bactericidal activity against gram positive bacteria

The facile synthesis of an SBA-15- pr - + NH 3 .Au 0 nano-hybrid material by spontaneous autoreduction of aqueous chloroaurate anions on propylamine functionalized SBA-15 was successfully demonstrated. The as-synthesized SBA-15- pr - + NH 3 .Au 0 nano-hybrid material was well characterized using low and wide angle x-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Visible spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The activity of the nano-hybrid material as a potent bactericidal agent was successfully tested against Gram positive/negative bacteria viz. Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The colony killing percentage of Gram positive bacteria was found to be higher than Gram negative bacteria due to the stronger electrostatic interaction between the positively-charged amine functionality of SBA-15 and the negatively charged functionality of the bacterial cell wall.