Ag nanoparticles and vancomycin comodified layered double hydroxides for simultaneous capture and disinfection of bacteria

In this work, AgNPs and Van molecules were modified on the surface of LDH sheets via the reduction of Ag ions with glucose and the adsorption of Van. The products were characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier-transform (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that a homogeneous distribution of AgNPs of 30 nm in size as well as Van molecules were attached onto the surface of the LDH sheets. Owing to their properties, they were demonstrated to be quite efficient for the simultaneous capture and disinfection of bacteria, and showed much higher bacteria disinfection properties to Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphyloccocus aureus (S. aureus) compared to Ag/LDH, Van/LDH and LDHs due to the combined effect of Ag and vancomycin. The prepared Van-Ag/LDHs effectively combined Van and AgNPs together using LDH sheets, overcoming the disadvantages of Van in that it only shows disinfection properties towards Gram-positive bacteria, and those of AgNPs in that they have low dispersity and stability, which may have wide applications in the field of sterilization.