Effect of the concentration of NaBH₄ and N₂H₄ as reductant agent on the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles and its potential antimicrobial applications

The antibacterial activity of various nanoparticles is gaining increasing interest due to its potential medical applications. In this work, we presented the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles prepared by chemical reduction from aqueous solutions of copper sulfate (CuSO₄) with sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) and hydrazine hydrate (N₂H₄) as reductant and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as stabilizer. The X-ray diffraction spectra showed the formation of tenorite (CuO) and cuprite (Cu₂O) nanoparticles when different ratios of CuSO₄/NaBH₄ and CuSO₄/N₂H₄ were used. Photographs obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed agglomerates of grains with a narrow size distribution (from 20 to 70 nm), whereas the radii of the individual particles were between 2 and 20 nm. Smaller nanoparticles and narrower particle size distributions were obtained when NaBH₄ was used. The results of antibacterial activity using the Kirby-Bauer method showed that nanoparticles obtained with NaBH₄ presented a reasonable bactericidal activity. Pseudomonas aureginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were more susceptible to the particle size than Escherichia coli. In addition, with small amounts of Cu₂O in samples of CuO nanoparticles, the antibacterial susceptibility against Pseudomonas aureginosa was improved. Finally, nanoparticles of CuO incorporated into cotton by applying ultrasound waves remained impregnated after five washes.