Experiment-Based Quantitative Modeling for the Antibacterial Activity of Silver Nanoparticles

<p>Silver (Ag) has been well known for its antimicrobial activity for a long time. Recent research showed the potential of Ag nanoparticles as emerging antimicrobial agents. However, little quantitative analysis has been performed so far to decipher the mechanism of interaction between nanoparticles and bacteria. Here, a detailed analysis based on kinetic growth assay and colony forming unit assay has been carried out to study the antimicrobial effect of Ag nanoparticles against Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. It was observed that the presence of Ag nanoparticles increased the lag time of bacterial growth while not affecting the maximum growth rate significantly. Besides, they can inhibit bacterial growth in the exponential phase by killing some E. coli bacteria cells. A quantitative model was developed to describe the observed antimicrobial behaviors of Ag nanoparticles. The model can successfully predict the experimental measurements. In addition, a mathematical approach to extract the model parameters using experimental data has also been described. It is expected that the model along with the parameters will help to understand the antimicrobial activity of Ag nanoparticles. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• Haque, Mohammad Aminul

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Wang, Yong

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chen, Zhong
• Ware, Morgan E.

• Antimicrobial
• Modeling
• Silver Nanoparticles
• Biophysics
• Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2445

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uark.edu:etd-3984