Abstract
To enhance the dispersibility and photostability of AgCl nanoparticles (NPs), AgCl NPs were firmly anchored on the surface of attapulgite (ATP) to prepare the ATP-AgCl composites. The microstructure, crystal structure, and antibacterial activity of the ATP-AgCl composites were investigated. Results demonstrate that the introducion of ATP not only avoids the agglomeration of AgCl NPs, but also decreases their particle size from 5–10 µm to 3–20 nm. Due to the small size effect of NPs, the antibacterial activity of as-prepared ATP-AgCl composites is comparable to that of pure AgCl. The antibacterial ratios against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are 99.98% and 99.88%, respectively. Additionally, the introduction of ATP also improves the photostability of AgCl NPs: the composites remains offwhite after exposure to sunshine for 24 h.
Inorganic antibacterial agents attract much attention because of their broad spectrum, high efficiency, and environmental-friendly advantage
To solve the abovementioned problems, various strategies and in-depth studies have been proposed and investigated. Fanoro et a
Attapulgite (ATP) is a natural water-containing silicate mineral with layer-chain transition structure, whose stoichiometric composition is Si8Mg5O20(OH)2(OH2)44H2O, belonging to the sepiolite family in mineralog
Herein, a series of ATP-AgCl composites were prepared by simple and feasible strategy with ATP as carrier. The schematic diagram of synthetic process of ATP-AgCl composites is shown in

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of synthetic process of ATP-AgCl composites
ATP was provided by Gansu Rongwan Technology Co., Ltd. CH3COOAg (AR) was supplied by Tianjin Dongjulong Chemical Technology Development Co., Ltd. NH4Cl and NH3·H2O (AR) were provided by Tianjin Fengchuan Chemical Reagent Technology Co., Ltd. Agar powder (No.A505255-0250) and broth culture medium (No.A507002) were supplied by Bioengineering Co., Ltd. The strains used in the experiment were E. coli (No. ATCC 25922) and S. aureus (No. ATCC 29213).
ATP-AgCl composites were prepared by a simple hydrothermal process. ATP (1.0 g) was dissolved in 60.0 mL deionized water and ultrasonically stirred for 10 min. NH4Cl (0.5 g) and CH3COOAg of different masses were mixed and stirred to form homogeneous solution consisting of 1wt%, 2.5wt%, 5wt%, 7.5wt%, and 10wt% AgCl. Then, 2.0 mL NH3·H2O was added into the mixed solution drop by drop. Afterwards, the solution was ultrasonically stirred and transferred to the 100.0 mL Teflon lined autoclave, which was sealed and maintained at 140 °C for 12 h. Finally, the white product was collected after the autoclave was cooled to room temperature. Then, the product was washed several times by deionized water. The final products were marked as ATP-1AgCl, ATP-2.5AgCl, ATP-5AgCl, ATP-7.5AgCl, and ATP-10AgCl composites, according to the mixed solution containing 1wt%, 2.5wt%, 5wt%, 7.5wt%, and 10wt% AgCl, respectively.
LB liquid culture medium: 100.0 mL of deionized water and 2.5 g LB broth culture medium were placed in a 250.0 mL reagent bottle, mixed evenly, and then sterilized in a high-temperature and high-pressure steam sterilization pot at 121 °C for 15 min.
Preparation of LB solid culture medium was as follows. The deionized water (100.0 mL), LB broth culture medium (2.5 g), and agar powder (1.5 g) were placed in 250.0 mL reagent bottle, mixed evenly, and then sterilized in a high-temperature and high-pressure steam sterilization pot at 121 °C for 15 min. After the medium was cooled to 40–50 °C, 15.0 mL medium was absorbed by the electric pipette and poured into a disposable sterile plate.
LB liquid medium (3.0 mL) and single colony selected from the solid medium of E. coli and S. aureus strains were added into the bacterial culture tubes of 12.0 mL, separately. The third bacterial culture tube had no additives, and it was used as blank control. These culture tubes were placed in the thermostatic oscillator (37 °C, 200 r/min) and incubated for 15 h. The concentration of bacterial solution was adjusted to 1
The sample (0.08 g) was weighed and placed in a centrifuge tube, then autoclaved at 121 °C for 20 min, and dried for standby. The circular filter paper with diameter of 1 cm was placed in the centrifuge tube, then autoclaved at 121 °C for 20 min, and dried for standby. The sample suspensions of 40 mg/mL were prepared by adding 2.0 mL sterile pure water to the powder sample. Then, the sterilized filter paper was put into the sample suspensions and soaked overnight for standby. The concentrations of E. coli and S. aureus were diluted to 1
Sterile pure water (2.0 mL) was added into the sterilized sample. After sufficient mixture, the sample suspension of 20 mg/mL was obtained. The concentration of E. coli broth was diluted to 1
The bacterial liquid concentration (CFU/mL) with 0.1 mL coated dilution and the bacteriostatic ratio can be calculated by
Bacterial liquid concentration=Colony count×Dilution ratio×10 | (1) |
(2) |
The morphologies and microstructures of the samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM, NOVANanoSEM450, FEI, USA), transmission electron microscope (TEM, Tecnai G2 F20 S-TWIN, FEI, USA), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS), and high angle annular dark field-scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF-STEM). The phase composition of the samples was determined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD, Cu-Kα, D8 ADVANCE, Bruker, Germany) to assess possible structural changes. The pore size and specific surface area of the samples were determined by N2 adsorption-desorption analyzer (BET, Cryosync, Autosorb IQ, USA), which was degassed at 250 °C for 12 h. The functional groups of the samples were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, VERTEX80, Bruker, Germany) using the potassium bromide particle technique.
The morphologies and microstructures of the as-prepared AgCl, ATP, and ATP-10AgCl composite were observed by SEM and TEM, as shown in

Fig.2 SEM morphologies of AgCl (a), ATP (b), and ATP-10AgCl composite (c); TEM images (d–e), HRTEM image (f), EDS spectrum (g), and HAADF-STEM images coupled with EDS element mapping results (h) of ATP-10AgCl composite

Fig.3 XRD patterns of different ATP-AgCl composites, AgCl, and ATP
FTIR spectra of AgCl, ATP-10AgCl composite, and ATP are shown in

Fig.4 FTIR spectra of ATP, ATP-10AgCl composite, and AgCl
The abovementioned results are further verified through N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. As shown in

Fig.5 N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms (a) and pore size distribution (b) of ATP-10AgCl composite
The specific surface area of ATP-10AgCl composite is very small of only 24.92
The antibacterial activities of ATP-AgCl composites and pure AgCl were investigated with E. coli and S. aureus as the target bacteria. As shown in

Fig.6 Inhibition circles of E. coil and S. aureus with different ATP-AgCl composites and AgCl
Furthermore, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests were conducted to investigate the antibacterial effect of the ATP-10AgCl composite against E. coli and S. aureus. As shown in

Fig.7 MIC test results of E. coli with ATP-10AgCl composite and blank control group at dilution ratios of 1

Fig.8 MIC test results of S. aureus with ATP-10AgCl composite and blank control group at dilution ratios of 1
With the synergistic effect of AgCl and ATP, the ATP-AgCl composites also have excellent photostability. As shown in

Fig.9 Appearances of ATP (a), ATP-10AgCl composite (b), and AgCl (c) after light exposure for 24 h
Two possible mechanisms are proposed. One theory is that the large-size AgCl NPs accumulate on the cell wall to denature the cell initially; then, the AgCl NPs with the size less than 10 nm directly penetrate the cell membrane to destroy the bacteria (

Fig.10 Schematic diagrams of antibacterial mechanisms of ATP-AgCl composites
1) ATP-AgCl composites can be prepared by simple and flexible hydrothermal method with ATP as carrier.
2) The introduction of ATP avoids the agglomeration of AgCl NPs and reduces the particle size from 5–10 µm to 3–20 nm. The as-prepared composites exhibit excellent photostability: the color changes slightly even after light exposure for 24 h.
3) The composites exhibit excellent antibacterial activity. With the small loading of 10wt% AgCl, the diameters of inhibition circles against E. coli and S. aureus are 6 and 8 mm, respectively. This result indicates that the ATP-10AgCl composite has comparable antibacterial effect as pure AgCl, which is beneficial to reduce the manufacture cost. The antibacterial ratios against E. coli and S. aureus are 99.98% and 99.88%, respectively.
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