One-pot fabrication of Ag @Ag2O core–shell nanostructures for biosafe antimicrobial and antibiofilm applications

Microbial contamination is one of the major dreadful problems that raises hospitalization, morbidity and mortality rates globally, which subsequently obstructs socio-economic progress. The continuous misuse and overutilization of antibiotics participate mainly in the emergence of microbial resistance. To circumvent such a multidrug-resistance phenomenon, well-defined nanocomposite structures have recently been employed. In the current study, a facile, novel and cost-effective approach was applied to synthesize Ag@Ag 2 O core–shell nanocomposites (NCs) via chemical method. Several techniques were used to determine the structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of the as-prepared NCs. XRD, Raman, FTIR, XPS and SAED analysis revealed a crystalline hybrid structure of Ag core and Ag 2 O shell. Besides, SEM and HRTEM micrographs depicted spherical nanoparticles with size range of 19–60 nm. Additionally, zeta potential and fluorescence spectra illustrated aggregated nature of Ag@Ag 2 O NCs by − 5.34 mV with fluorescence emission peak at 498 nm. Ag@Ag 2 O NCs exhibited higher antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and algicidal activity in dose-dependent behavior. Interestingly, a remarkable mycocidal potency by 50 μg of Ag@Ag 2 O NCs against Candida albican ; implying promising activity against COVID-19 white fungal post-infections. Through assessing cytotoxicity, Ag@Ag 2 O NCs exhibited higher safety against Vero cells than bulk silver nitrate by more than 100-fold.