Radiation synthesis of Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone/acrylic acid/pectin/silver) nanocomposite hydrogel and its antimicrobial activity

Recently, the need for effective antibacterial materials is growing day after day. Hydrogels with antimicrobial activities are strongly recommended in many biomedical applications. This work aims to prepare natural based nanocomposite hydrogel composed of N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), acrylic acid (AAc) and pectin (PEC) embedded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The prepared Poly(NVP/AAc/PEC/Ag) pH-sensitive nanocomposite hydrogel was characterized by gel (%), equilibrium swelling, FTIR, SEM, and XRD. Additionally, in order to confirm the incorporation of AgNPs within the nanocomposite hydrogel matrix during irradiation, TEM analysis was carried out. The AgNPs have average particles size 5.9 +/- 1 nm for 10 kGy, 6.7 nm +/- 2 for 20 kGy, and 8.9 +/- 3 nm for 30 kGy, respectively. The XRD data are in good agreement with TEM analysis. The antibacterial activities of the selected Poly(NVP/AAc/PEC/Ag) nanocomposite hydrogel prepared at 30 kGy irradiation dose towards S. aureus, and E. coli has a higher antibacterial activity than other irradiation doses.