Environmentally Benign Green Synthesized Chitosan-pNIPAm Composite Hydrogel

Abstract

To overcome the recent hassles of hydrogels like toxicity, low swelling, and less antibacterial activity, we developed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) loaded hydrogel and tested its activity against Escherichia coli. Encapsulation of AgNPs into the hydrogel confirms after having peaks at 1,320 cm-1, ~1,700 cm-1, ~3,000 cm-1 and 770 cm-1. The nanoparticles' size range was 10-15 nm and they were distributed throughout the hydrogel with unreacted plant extract. The highest inhibition zone of nanoparticle-loaded hydrogel was 15 nm, at 25 °C, pH 4.4 and the lowest was 7 nm at 37 °C, pH 9.4. Results encourage the use of developed hydrogel for biomedical applications.