| Posted: Feb 11, 2015 |
Biomedical applications of gold-oxoborate nanocomposites
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(Nanowerk News) Researchers have developed a novel inorganic nanocomposite material, called BOA, which has the form of small building blocks composed of gold nanoparticles embedded in a polyoxoborate matrix.
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These blocks have shapes of flattened square-based cuboids with a base edge length of a few tens of nanometers. Through the condensation reaction, the nanocomposite blocks can easily both self-assemble into three-dimensional aggregates or bind to various hydrophilic surfaces.
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Reporting their findings in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces ("Gold-Oxoborate Nanocomposites and Their Biomedical Applications"), the scientists demonstrate that cotton wool decorated with the BOA nanocomposite displays strong antibacterial activity toward both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria strains.
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Importantly, the modified cotton does not release any toxic substances, and the bacteria are killed upon contact with the fibers coated with the BOA.
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Toxicity tests show that the nanocomposite-in spite of its antiseptic properties-is harmless for mammalian cells. The presented method of surface modification utilizes mild, environmentally friendly fabrication conditions. Thus, it offers a facile approach to obtain durable nontoxic antiseptic coatings for biomedical applications.
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