Abstract:
The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a critical global healthcare challenge, undermining the effectiveness of conventional antimicrobial agents. Nanomaterials have gained significant attention as a remarkable class of materials due to their unique properties and the fact that they encompass a wide range of samples with at least one dimension ranging from 1 to 100 nm. This study explores the synthesis and characterization of iron oxide/silver oxide (Fe₂O₃/Ag₂O) nanocomposites using Stephanie Abyssinicia plant extract as a green synthesis medium. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by X-ray defractometr (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta potential (ZP), and Ultraviolet
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Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). UV-Vis spectroscopy confirmed nanocomposites synthesis through characteristic surface plasmon resonance peaks, while band gap analysis revealed a synergistic reduction of 2.76eV. FTIR analysis validated the role of phytochemicals in functionalizing and stabilizing the nanocomposites. The Fe₂O₃-Ag₂O nanocomposites exhibited superior stability (-22.2 mV zeta potential) compared to Ag₂O nanoparticle (-15.2 mV), as evidenced by XRD and SEM analyses, which also confirmed improved particle dispersion and size control. Antibacterial that the nanocomposites exhibited superior efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, outperforming individual Fe₂O₃ and Ag₂O nanoparticles, as determined by the zone of inhibition method. The maximum ZOI values recorded by Fe2O3/Ag2O were 12.5± 0.08 for shigella, 14.00± 0.51 for bacillus, 13.5 ± 0.58 mm for E. coli, and 18 ± 0.25 mm for S. aureus, Ag2ONPs recorded moderate ZOI values of 11.00±0.11 mm, 9.00±0.91mm 10.33 ± 0.58 mm and 12.67.00 ± 0.58 mm for Shigella, bacillus, E. coli and S. aureus respectively. The maximum scavenging activity for green synthesized Fe2O3/Ag2O NCs, Ag2O NPs and Fe2O3 NPs was found to be 93.87%, 88.37%, and 73.01% for respectively. Furthermore, the nanocomposites showed exceptional antioxidant activity, achieving 93.87% scavenging efficiency highlighting their multifunctional bioactive potential.
