The alarming transmission rate of surgical site infections (SSI) in hospitals due to ineffective sterilization has encouraged researchers to search for a safe and easily available antibacterial agent. Common sterilization methods involving UV radiation and fumigants lead to hazardous effects on the environment and humans. These drawbacks have caused researchers to shift their attention towards visible light to activate certain materials to act as antibacterial agents. Thus, the present work reports optimization and antibacterial studies of sol‐gel coupled ultrasound synthesis of photo‐activated magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis confirmed that smaller sized particles ranging from 13 nm‐25 nm are formed with narrower bandgap of 2.54 eV (1 eV = 1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹ J). The size reduction in the MgO nanoparticles narrowed their band gap, compared to previous results, which extends their absorptivity of light wavelength from UV (<400 nm) to the visible light region (400‐550 nm). The disc diffusion antibacterial analysis optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) revealed that a 0.01 mol/L MgO nanoparticle concentration of 531 μL dosages exhibited a maximum zone of inhibition (ZoI) of 54.1 mm against E. coli, which was achieved with a visible light distance of 5.7 cm. Similarly, a maximum ZoI of 61.3 mm for S. aureus was obtained with a visible light distance of 5 cm and MgO concentration and dosage of 0.01 mol/L and 401 μL. This study confirms the ability of MgO nanoparticle as an alternate and better antibacterial agent via photo‐activation for the first time. These photo‐activated MgO nanoparticles will be beneficial in the possible inhibition of bacterial growth in surgical equipment, lab coats, or even as antibacterial paints in hospitals.

中文翻译：

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溶胶-凝胶耦合超声合成光活化氧化镁纳米粒子：优化和抗菌研究

由于消毒效果不佳，医院中外科手术部位感染（SSI）的传播速度令人震惊，这促使研究人员寻找一种安全且容易获得的抗菌剂。涉及紫外线辐射和熏蒸剂的常见灭菌方法会对环境和人类造成危害。这些缺点已导致研究人员将注意力转移到可见光上，以激活某些材料以充当抗菌剂。因此，本工作报告了溶胶-凝胶耦合超声合成光活化氧化镁（MgO）纳米粒子的优化和抗菌研究。透射电子显微镜（TEM）和漫反射光谱（DRS）分析证实，形成了13 nm-25 nm的较小尺寸的粒子，带隙为2.54 eV（1 eV = 1.602×10^-19 J）。与以前的结果相比，MgO纳米粒子的尺寸减小缩小了它们的带隙，这将它们的吸收波长从紫外线（<400 nm）扩展到可见光区域（400-550 nm）。使用响应表面方法（RSM）优化的光盘扩散抗菌分析显示，浓度为531μL的0.01 mol / L MgO纳米颗粒对大肠杆菌的最大抑制作用区（ZoI）为54.1 mm ，这在可见光下可实现光线距离为5.7厘米。同样，金黄色葡萄球菌的最大ZoI为61.3 mm可见光距离为5 cm，MgO浓度为0.01 mol / L，401μL。这项研究首次证实了通过光活化MgO纳米颗粒作为替代和更好的抗菌剂的能力。这些光活化的MgO纳米颗粒将有助于抑制外科手术设备，实验室外套甚至医院中的抗菌涂料中细菌的生长。