Preparation and characterization of antibacterial Au/C core–shell composite

An environment-friendly oxidation–reduction method was used to prepare Au/C core–shell composite using carbon as core and gold as shell. The chemical structures and morphologies of Au/C core–shell composite and carbon sphere were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, energy dispersion X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The antibacterial properties of the Au/C core–shell composite against Escherichia coli ( E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) and Candida albicans ( C. albicans) were examined by the disk diffusion assay and minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) methods. In addition, antibacterial ability of Au/C core–shell composite was observed by atomic force microscope. Results demonstrated that gold homogeneously supported on the surface of carbon spheres without aggregation and showed efficient antibacterial abilities.