Characterization and Antibacterial Behavior of MgO-PEG Nanoparticles Synthesized via Co-Precipitation Method

A surfactant assisted precipitation method is employed for the preparation of nanostructured magnesium oxide with flake-like nanoparticles. The influence of surfactant on the crystallite size and morphology of MgO was studied using various parameters. The synthesized MgO nanomaterials were characterized by using FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM and EDAX analytical techniques in order to evaluate the formation, crystalline phase morphologies, microstructures and chemical compositions. The powder X-ray power diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the average crystalline size of 15.34 nm with cubic structure. The crystallite size increased with increasing amount of PEGs. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FFSEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) showed that the surfactant strongly affect the size and morphology of nanostructure. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy studies indicated the formation of MgO with the characteristic vibration mode of Mg-O. Further, the antibacterial effect of MgO nanoparticles evaluated against pathogenic bacteria by agar diffusion method showed that the nanoparticles have reasonable antibacterial activity against both gram positive (S.aureus) and gram negative (E.coli) pathogenic bacterial strains and retains potential application in pharmaceutical and biomedical industries.