Abstract

The formation of biofilm (Biofouling) in different surface is the great concern in types of fields, especially in medical and health system as well as in membrane technology. The present study deals with the synthesis and characterization of <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanopowders with antibacterial activity which can be a potentially utilized material for biocompatible implants. Nanostructure was synthesized based on sol-gel method and then, crystallite size, and microstructural and morphological characterization of nanostructure were determined by X-ray diffraction, electron-microscopic techniques - scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). According to X-ray diffraction, the value of particle size for <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanopowders is 20.85 nm. In the following, the antibacterial activity of <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanoparticles was assessed on three gram positive and three gram negative bacteria by radial diffusion assay and measurement of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The toxicity of <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanopowders on blood cells was also assessed. The results showed that this nanostructure has potent antibacterial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The synthesized <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanopowders showed the antimicrobial activity against antibiotic resistant bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus. Significant antibacterial activity of this nanostructure was seen to have a greatest effect on Bacillus cereus with the MIC value of 9.2 μg/ml; while, among bacterial strains, Salmonella typhimurium was investigated to be the most resistant one with the MIC of 35.6 μg/ml. <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanopowders showed no toxicity on blood cells. according to acquired data in this study, <inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanopowders may be a good material for inhibition of biofilm formation. Copyright © 2015 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.