Inhibition of E. coli and S. aureus with selenium nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in deionized water

Abstract

G Guisbiers,1 Q Wang,2 E Khachatryan,1 LC Mimun,1 R Mendoza-Cruz,1 P Larese-Casanova,3 TJ Webster,2,4,5 KL Nash1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 2Department of Bioengineering, 3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 4Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; 5Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Abstract: Nosocomial diseases are mainly caused by two common pathogens, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which are becoming more and more resistant to conventional antibiotics. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly necessary to find other alternative treatments than commonly utilized drugs. A promising strategy is to use nanomaterials such as selenium nanoparticles. However, the ability to produce nanoparticles free of any contamination is very challenging, especially for nano-medical applications. This paper reports the successful synthesis of pure selenium nanoparticles by laser ablation in water and determines the minimal concentration required for ~50% inhibition of either E. coli or S. aureus after 24 hours to be at least ~50 ppm. Total inhibition of E. coli and S. aureus is expected to occur at 107±12 and 79±4 ppm, respectively. In this manner, this study reports for the first time an easy synthesis process for creating pure selenium to inhibit bacterial growth. Keywords: nosocomial disease, bacteria, antibiotics resistant, cytotoxicity

Keywords

• Nosocomial disease
• nanoparticles
• selenium
• pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL)