Mechanical and antibacterial investigations of TiO₂ and MgO nanoparticles for medical application

The research examines the effect of reinforcing silicone rubber (SR) with TiO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) and MgO nanoparticles (MgO NPs) at a selected ratio 2wt.%, 3wt.% and 4wt.%. silicone rubber is prepared as matrix and reinforced by these two types of NPs separately. The evaluation on the effect of some physical, mechanical and biological property of the prepared bio-composite are performed. Including hardness, wettability, and bacterial colony formation (CFU) testing, along with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) examination to monitor the distribution of nanoparticles on the surface of the samples. wettability test results showed a gradual increase in contact angle values with increasing NPs concentration. silicone rubber sample SR/MgO-4 recorded the highest value at 101.6°, while the control sample recorded 94.91°. This indicates an increased hydrophobicity of the rubber surface after the addition of nanoparticles. A gradual increase in hardness values is observed with ratio portion for both NPs used. Bacteriological testing also revealed a significant decrease in the number of bacterial colonies growing on the enriched samples compared to the control sample, indicating that the nanoparticles used possess antibacterial activity. Finally, FESEM images further supported these findings by showing the NPs distribution and the variation in the nature of the agglomerations depending on effect of NPs proportion.