Synthesis and Application of Dendrimer-encapsulated Cu Nanoparticles

Undergraduate #265
Discipline: Nanoscience
Subcategory: Materials Science

Amir Mills - Tuskegee University
Co-Author(s): Gerald Griffin, Hope College, Holland, MI Md. Ariful Ahsan, Demetrius Finley, Aeisha Ethridge, and Michael Curry, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL

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Due to some antimicrobial agents exhibiting irritable and toxic behaviors, interest has increased towards the development of new ways to formulate new types of safe and cost-effective biocidal materials. Many reports have shown that nanoparticles can be used effectively as an antimicrobial agent due to their unique chemical and physical properties observed at the nano-regime. Many methods lack the ability to deliver nanoparticles with welldesigned surfaces and unique structural properties. However, recent reports have shown that poly(amido)amine dendrimers can be used to synthesize nanoparicles with uniform shapes and sizes and prevent nanoparticle aggregation due to the high metal-to-metal affinity. Hence, in this work, we report the synthesis of monodispersed dendrimer-encapsulated Cu nanoparticles and investigation of their antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram -negative E. Coli bacteria.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF; The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. NSF EPS-1158862, NSF HRD-1137681, and the MICROBE Project Award by Howard Hughes Medical Institute for support of this research.

Faculty Advisor: Michael Curry, Dr. Griffin,