Development of porous alginate microbeads containing silver nanoparticles and their antibacterial efficacy

The main aim of this study is to develop a new method to prepare porous microbeads. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized in an alginate colloidal solution, and then the porous microbeads containing AgNPs were prepared. The prepared alginate/AgNPs microbeads were ∼300 μm in diameter. The resulting alginate/AgNPs microbeads were placed in a solvent of N,N-dimethylformamide with AgNPs, which resulted in the formation of pores in the block microbeads composite. The formation of AgNPs was confirmed by UV–vis spectroscopy and TEM; the results showed that the AgNPs have a diameter range of 6–21 nm. The microbeads are characterized by using SEM, EDX, as well as FTIR. The porous alginate/AgNPs microbeads were examined against different pathogenic bacterial strains, and the result was compared with another alginate/AgNPs microbeads. The porous alginate/AgNPs microbeads exhibit a strong antimicrobial activity compared to the alginate/AgNPs microbeads.