Antimicrobial activities of basic magnesium hypochlorite nanoparticles on escherichia coli and staphylococcus aureus

The basic magnesium hypochlorite (BMH) nanoparticles were prepared by two micro-emulsion techniques. The antimicrobial activities of BMH nanoparticles on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were investigated. The BMH nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Malvern Instruments. The thermostability of BMH nanoparticles was measured by TG-DSC. The antibacterial activities of BMH nanoparticles were investigated by broth dilution test, the concussion flask method, the antibacterial circle test, and the antibacterial mechanism was discussed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the average size of the BMH nanoparticles was 278 nm. The BMH nanoparticles had excellent thermostability comparing with other antibacterial agents, the antibacterial circle diameters were increased with the increase in the content of BMH nanoparticles mixing with CaCO3, and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of BMH nanoparticles on E. coli and S. aureus were 1250 μg/mL, the antibacterial rate of the BMH nanoparticles against E. coli reached 99.2% for 6 h at the MBC of BMH nanoparticles and reached 99% for 3 h against S. aureus. The excellent antimicrobial activity of BMH nanoparticles might be caused by synergistic effect of releasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and absorption. Copyright © 2013 American Scientific Publishers.