(4fh) Silver Quantum Clusters Conjugated Polysaccharide Gum: A One-Pot Approach

In the present work, silver (Ag) quantum clusters (QCs) were synthesized by a facile one-pot route. The QCs that range from a few atoms to few tens of atoms in size are the particles smaller than nanoparticles, and hence are preferred over nanoparticles as they further reduce the quantity of metallic (Ag) content and are non-toxic to human cells. The efforts were conducted to conjugate polysaccharide gum on the AgQCs surface in a one-step method. It was observed that the polysaccharide gum acts as capping agent and reducing agent in synthesizing AgQCs. Thus, the approach was found to be an effective route for reducing metallic content and imparting antibacterial property, simultaneously. On conjugation, gum-AgQCs have the potential as an edible antibacterial coating. The successful cluster formation in the gum solution was confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy, HR-TEM and fluorescence spectroscopy.