CITRIC ACID-BASED SILVER NANOCOMPOSITE HYDROGELS PREPARATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY ANALYSIS

The hydrogel was prepared based on citric acid (CA), tri ethylene glycol (TEG), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) by the condensation polymerization process. The silver nanoparticles were added to a hydrogel network to form a silver nanocomposite hydrogel. The nanocomposite hydrogel was analyzed using FT-IR and transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) to analyze the size and network of the nanoparticles, respectively. The pH-sensitive swelling behavior of the hydrogel and nanocomposite hydrogel was observed. The results showed that swelling of hydrogel was high in acidic solution compared to basic media. The antibacterial test was performed against both grampositive (Bacillus aureus and Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. The lowerconcentration hydrogel exhibited more biological activity than the higher concentration. The synthesized nanocomposites with tailored antibacterial properties could be used for burn treatment, wound healing, fungal infections on the skin, and other biomedical uses.