Antibacterial activity of copper-decorated CeO2 nanoparticles and preparation of antifouling polyethersulfone surface

Cerium oxide NPs (<i>nano</i>-CeO₂), with notable performance in various biological tests like redox activity, free radical scavenging, and biofilm inhibition, emerge as significant candidates to address issues in related areas. In this research, copper-decorated <i>nano</i>-CeO₂ (Cu@<i>nano</i>-CeO₂) were first synthesized and then characterized using advanced techniques such as SEM-EDX, XRD, XPS, BET, and ICP-OES. The biochemical properties of the obtained Cu@<i>nano</i>-CeO₂ nanostructure and its performance in polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were thoroughly investigated in this research study. The free radical scavenging effect of Cu@<i>nano</i>-CeO₂ at 100 mg/L concentration was determined as 100 % with the same activity as the reference compounds Trolox and ascorbic acid. It enhanced 2.9-fold α-amylase enzyme activity at 50 mg/L. Plasmid DNA was completely degraded at 100 mg/L concentration. Cu@<i>nano</i>-CeO₂ provided significant inhibition against tested bacterial and fungal strains, especially Gram-positives than Gram-negatives and fungus. Anti-biofilm activity was determined against <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i> as 98.3 and 82.1 %, respectively. Furthermore, <i>E. coli</i> inhibition activity of PES/Cu@<i>nano</i>-CeO₂ 1.0 wt% membrane was determined as 100 %. Owing to the promising results obtained, we can suggest that Cu@<i>nano</i>-CeO₂ can be used in wastewater treatment.