Glauconite-based antibacterial composites with copper nanoparticles

Recently, there has been great interest in the potential use of metal nanoparticles in various fields: physics, medicine, microelectronics, biology, etc. Copper nanoparticles are not inferior in properties to nanoparticles of noble metals, however, they are much cheaper and more accessible. This work shows the preparation of an effective bactericidal composite with copper nanoparticles. Glauconite from the Beloozersk deposit in the Saratov region was used as a matrix for creating the composite. Glauconite can be a stabilizer for air-unstable copper nanoparticles. The glauconite structure has nanoscale porosity, which largely increases the effective sorption surface. The copper nanoparticles obtained by the chemical reduction were immobilized on a glauconite matrix. Sorption of nanoparticles was monitored by spectrophotometry. The bactericidal efficacy of the obtained nanocomposite was investigated in relation to clinical bacterial strains. These studies can be in demand in veterinary medicine, agriculture and medicine, after additional research.