Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras

Metal/Metal Oxide Nanocomposites/Mixtures as an Antibacterial Agent and the Method of Preparation thereof

Technology Category/Market

Technology: Metal Oxide Nanocomposites as an Antibacterial Agent ;

Industry: coating, nanofiber, graphene.

Applications: Electronics, Pharmaceutical, other

Market: The global  nanocomposites market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.20% during forecast period of 2023 to 2028.

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Problem Statement

  • In the present era, Copper is an essential trace micronutrient and dietary mineral which assists in certain metabolic functions for the life sustenance of the human beings & other living organism.
  • Further, copper is one of the most utilized metal elements in the world in electrical units as wires & motors, agricultural poison, architectural materials, corrosion-resistant coating for marine environments etc.
  • Moreover, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is a well-known semiconductor material that is widely used in optical and electrical equipments.
  • Based on prior arts patent literature survey, it is noted that copper-zinc oxide (Cu/ZnO) composites have superior antibacterial action than the pure components, i.e. copper & zinc oxide, the prior art of preparation of Cu-ZnO material is laborious, time-consuming, expensive.
  • Hence, there is a need to address the issues in efficient manner.

Technology

Present invention describes a method of preparing metallic Cu-ZnO nanocomposite with high antibacterial activity by low temperature solid-state reactions of Cu and zinc acetate combinations. (Refer FIG.1)

The method comprising the steps of:

  1. metal acetate precursor namely copper acetate monohydrate and zinc acetate
  2. dihydrate are taken in equal proportion by weight from 0.1 gram to 1.0 gram
  3. The salt mixture of (a) taken in equal proportion by weight is grounded to get a homogeneous phase
  4. the homogeneous mixture of (b) is taken in a silica crucible and is placed in a muffle furnace without closing the crucible
  5. washing the product with distilled water 3 to 4 times with occasional
  6. ultrasonication and centrifuged
  7. washing the centrifuged product with ethanol 2 to 3 times with occasional ultrasonication and dried at 60 degree centigrade to remove any ethanol present
  8. Further, the copper remains metallic in the prepared nanocomposite.

Key Features/Value Proposition

Technical Perspective:

  1. Facilitates a method of preparing metallic Cu-ZnO mixture with high antibacterial activity.
  2. Provides a method of preparing metallic Cu/ZnO nanocomposite along with XRD evidence for the formation of said nanocomposite.
  3. The antibacterial activity mainly due to the strong adsorption of positively charged Cu ions to bacterial cells, which imparts antibacterial efficacy in a concentration-dependent manner.

Industrial Perspective:

  1. The nanocomposite/mixture exhibits antibacterial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria within 8 hours of inoculation shown in Fig 2.
  2. This antibacterial composition is effective in killing E. coli and B. cereus in less than 24 hours.
Questions about this Technology?

Contact for Licensing

Research Lab

Prof. P.T.Manoharan

Department of Chemistry

Intellectual Property

  • IITM IDF Ref. 1622 
  • Patent No.357190

Technology Readiness Level

TRL- 3

 Proof of Concept & validated in Lab

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