Synthesis and Broad Spectrum Antibacterial Activity of Magnetite Ferrofluid

Magnetite (Fe3O4), is an extensively studied material because of several interesting properties and associated applications. However, synthesizing functional magnetite nano- and microstructures as ferrofluids for use in biomedical field still remains a challenge due to the technical limitations associated with the fabrication process. We have developed a one-step, low energy consumable process for the synthesis of highly monodisperse magnetite nanoparticles using thioglycerol as a stabilizing agent. The characterization of synthesized nanoparticles has been carried out using particle size analyzer, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The antibacterial property of the synthesized magnetite nanoparticles has also been investigated and the results indicated that the tested pathogenic microorganisms are quite susceptible to very low concentrations of thioglycerol stabilized magnetite nanoparticles (TSMNs). The minimum inhibitory concentrations of synthesized TSMNs were found to be 0.041 mg/ml for E. coli and 0.047mg/ml for Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Such antibacterial properties pose great promise for nanomaterials stabilized with organic molecules to be used in bio-medical applications.