article · Environmental Technology & Innovation
Wastewater generated during the fermentation of Parkia biglobosa seeds for condiment production has been repurposed to synthesise silver nanoparticles. Serving as both a bio-reductant and a stabiliser, the wastewater facilitated the production of spherical silver nanoparticles ranging from 11.00 to 83.30 nanometres in size, with optimal yield achieved at pH 10 and 1 millimolar silver nitrate concentration. The resulting nanoparticles demonstrated antimicrobial activity against several multi-drug resistant clinical bacterial strains and fungi, causing cellular leakage of proteins and nucleic acids. In practical tests, cotton and silk textiles functionalised with these nanoparticles retained antimicrobial properties through five wash cycles. These treated fabrics successfully inhibited bacterial growth and displayed complete antifungal activity, demonstrating the potential to convert an agricultural processing waste into functional antimicrobial nanotextiles.
The rise of drug-resistant pathogens requires new antimicrobial solutions, while food processing frequently produces unutilised organic waste. By converting fermentation wastewater into functional nanomaterials, this approach demonstrates a sustainable method to produce antimicrobial coatings. It provides a biological route for developing protective textiles capable of fighting resistant bacteria and fungi without relying on hazardous chemical synthesis agents.
This work demonstrates applied and tested laboratory-scale fabrication of antimicrobial textiles for biomedical or hygiene applications. Fabric producers or medical textile manufacturers could potentially use this biowaste route to impart antibacterial and antifungal finishes onto cotton and silk. While the coated fabrics successfully withstood five wash cycles under experimental conditions, further development, scaling, and standardisation are required before reaching commercial use.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Parkia biglobosa wastewater (PBWW), a waste in the local production of a condiment ‘iru’ was used to synthesize AgNPs, acting as bio-reductant and stabilizer to fabricate AgNPs. The particles were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) along with electron microscopic investigations. The effectiveness of PBWW-AgNPs as antimicrobial agents was determined using multi-drug resistant (MDR) clinical bacterial isolates and some fungi. Also, the mechanisms of actions of the AgNPs on bacterial cells were studied via release of protein and nucleic acids. In an applied investigation, cotton and silk were functionalized with the AgNPs, and antimicrobial properties determined up to 5th wash cycle. The brown colloidal AgNPs depicted maximum absorption at 390 nm, while the FTIR spectra revealed O-H, N-H, and O=C=O bonds as the functional groups present. Optimal production of PBWW-AgNPs occurred at the pH 10 and concentration of 1 mM AgNO 3 . The particles were mainly spherical having size range of 11.00–83.30 nm with face-centred crystallinity. PBWW-AgNPs had inhibitions of 8–26 nm against MDR strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella oxytoca, K. pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis with MIC of 80–100 μg/ml. Evidences exist for the leakage of proteins and nucleic acids upon exposure of bacteria to AgNPs. The functionalized-fabrics inhibited bacterial growth and achieved 100% antifungal activity. This report is the first on valorization of P. biglobosa wastewater for nanobiotechnological exploration with potentials for biomedical applications in producing specialized fabrics with immense antimicrobial properties.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2021.102077
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
