Research Article: Antimicrobial effects of silver/copper/titanium dioxide-nanocomposites synthesised by chemical reduction method to increase the shelf life of caviar (Huso huso)

This paper focuses on the use of incorporation of silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles in titanium dioxide (TiO۲) nanocomposites, as Ag/Cu/TiO۲ nanocomposite was synthetized through the chemical reduction method against food borne microorganisms. The antimicrobial effect of Ag/Cu/Tio۲ nanocomposite demonstrated a considerable antimicrobial activity as order as Escherichia coli > Staphylococcus aureus > Aspergillus niger. The results of the agar diffusion test exhibited no halo growth around the discs of four nanocomposite samples, which indicated the perfect inhibitory effect of synthesized Ag/Cu/TiO۲ nanocomposites against the afore-mentioned bacteria. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis exhibited that Ag and Cu nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed into the TiO۲ nanocomposite. Furthermore, the results of inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method showed that ۰/۱۶۸ ppm of Ag was released to caviar samples on ۳۲nd day and ۶۲nd days of the experiment. All findings indicated that the combined usage of Ag/Cu/Tio۲ nanoparticles could meet all desirable objectives including increase of antimicrobial activity and reduction release of Ag nanoparticles into the caviar, which extends caviar shelf life.

Keywords:

Chemical reduction method , Nanocomposites , Shelf life , Caviar , Antimicrobial tests.