Antimicrobial Activity against Escherichia coli of Cu-Ni Nanoalloy and Combination of Ag Nanoparticles, Obtained by Different Method

Escherichia coli, is a pathogenic bacterium that causes serious infections, whose therapeutic treatment is threatened by the emergence of multiple resistance to conventional antibiotics. In recent years, metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been studied for their antimicrobial capacity and their possible applications as an alternative to antibiotics against different pathogens. NPs also vary in synthesis techniques; either by chemical, physical and biological methods. The objective of this work was to study the possible antimicrobial capacity of Cu-Ni nanoalloys obtained by a method called citrate-gel. The antimicrobial capacity of the NPs mentioned above was evaluated in vitro by the agar diffusion method. Most of the NPs evaluated showed antibacterial activity against the strain of E. coli studied. When combining chemical and biological NP, synergistic effects are observed with an increase in antibacterial activity in some cases. We can conclude that NPs derived from chemical and biological synthesis could be used as antimicrobials against E. coli and when these are combined, antibacterial effects increase. In the future, these applications of nanomaterials could be used as an alternative to the use of antibiotics against infections that have limited treatments.