Study on the synergistic antibacterial effect of silver-carried layered zirconium alkyl-N,N-dimethylenephosphonate

A series of zirconium alkyl-N,N-dimethylenephosphonate silver-carrying (Ag-ZRDP) were successfully prepared and their potential applications as synergistic antibacterial materials were investigated. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), of 30   nm in diameter, were tightly anchored onto the zirconium alkyl-N,N-dimethylenephosphonate (ZRDP), increasing the antibacterial activity of the Ag NPs due to a decrease in the extent of nanoparticle aggregation. Due to the synergistic antibacterial effect of the Ag NPs and ZRDP, the Ag-ZRDP showed a better antibacterial activity than Ag NPs and ZRDP with a minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of 0.25 and 0.25   μg   mL −1 against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , respectively. Additionally, the Ag-ZRDP did not show obvious cytotoxicity against mammalian cells (A549 cells), even at a concentration of 256   μg   mL −1 . Collectively, these properties make the newly synthesized Ag-ZRDP potentially superior as disinfectants and antiseptics for various biomedical and biotechnological applications.