Polyacrylic acid based hydrogel-silver nanoparticles for antibacterial applications

Polyacrylic acid based hydrogels were prepared by free radical polymerization with redox initiator system in the presence of N,Npsila-methylenebisacrylamide. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles have been uniformly distributed in these hydrogel networks via in situ reduction of silver nitrate by sodium borohydride (reducing agent). The UV-vis spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy are applied to confirm the formation of silver nanoparticles. The silver-hydrogel nanocomposites are also demonstrated antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Micrococcus luteus (M. luteus).