Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their use for the preparation of nanocomposite curdlan antibacterial film

Water-soluble glycyrrhiza polysaccharides (GPs), extracted from the root and stem of licorice, were utilized in the photo-induced synthesis of Ag nanoparticles. The size and size distribution, morphology and structures of the Ag nanoparticles were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy (UV), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that GPs played an essential role in the synthesis and stabilization of Ag particles. The prepared Ag nanoparticles varied in size and shape, dependent on the concentrations of GPs and silver nitrate. The obtained GP-stabilized Ag nanoparticles were incorporated into a biopolymeric film of curdlan as a novel source of potential antibacterial biomaterials. The resulting nanocomposite films exhibited an obvious antibacterial property with uniformly distributed Ag nanoparticles of 20–50 nm. Our results suggest that these nanocomposite films are promising templates for the design of novel antibacterial biomaterials.