Zinc–Silver Nitroprusside Nanocomposites: Synthesis, Characterization, and Antibacterial Properties with Cytocompatibility

The emergence of bacterial infections poses an enormous health, economic, and global burden on organisms. However, silver‐based materials with strong antibacterial activity are difficult to apply due to the high toxicity. Therefore, zinc–silver nitroprusside nanocomposites (Zn–AgNP NCs) are prepared using sodium nitroprusside as a medium and characterized to achieve enhancement of their antibacterial properties and reduction of their cytotoxicity. Herein, the Zn–AgNP NCs show a cubic shape with an average size of 161.23 ± 3.77 nm and exhibit a negative zeta potential (–25 ± 0.23 mV). The Zn–AgNP NCs exhibit crystalline properties similar to those of silver nitroprusside nanoparticles (AgNP NPs) and zinc nitroprusside nanoparticles (ZnNP NPs). Furthermore, Zn–AgNP NCs demonstrate enhanced antibacterial and anti‐biofilm activities against multiple pathogens, including Bacillus cereus (MIC 50 = 8.8 μg mL −1 ), and induce high levels of nucleic acid and protein leakage in bacteria. In addition, Zn–AgNP NCs demonstrate low cytotoxicity (below 15.6 μg mL −1 ) and high biocompatibility (up to 250 μg mL −1 ). Overall, Zn–AgNP NCs exhibit excellent antibacterial capabilities and superior biocompatibility compared to AgNP NPs. This study suggests that Zn–AgNP NCs have the potential to be utilized as a safe and effective antibacterial agent.