Study of Silver Nanoparticles Biocidal Properties on Escherichia Coli Using Optical and Atomic Force Microscopy

Silver's biocidal properties have been known to affect cellular metabolism and inhibit cell growth; therefore it is expected that it will affect Escherichia coli, a bacteria known as one of the many species of bacteria living in the lower intestines of mammals. One of its primary adverse effects is the ability to cause food-borne illness. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging technique that can resolve features as small as an atomic lattice in real space. One of its many advantages is that it allows molecular scale resolution in liquid or without vacuum; therefore it has been immediately extended to biological systems. The focus of the present study was to investigate the structural and surface alterations induced in E. coli by the exposure of silver nanoparticles and image it using AFM. It is expected to obtain easily achievable images by AFM with different orientations in space and accurate measurements of the morphology of normal versus affected E. coli. Optical Microscopy was used for preliminary experiments to confirm that silver nanoparticles can affect the E. coli.

Reference:

Braga P.C.; Ricci D. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 1998, 42(1), 18?22.