Antibacterial studies of polyindole based metal oxide nanocomposites

Abstract

In the present work, polyindole based metal oxide nanocomposites were synthesised through chemical oxidation method. For comparative study, the counterparts, polyindole was synthesised through chemical oxidation method and the metal oxides were synthesised through chemical co precipitation method. Structural studies were done using XRD. Phase purity and crystallinity of these samples were confirmed from XRD. XRD confirmed the formation of nanocomposites. Crystallite sizes were calculated using Scherrer equation for metal oxides. The present study investigates the antimicrobial activity of the synthesized samples as antibacterial agents. The gram positive bacteria: S. epidermidis and C. perfringens, gram negative bacteria: E. coli and V. cholera were the microbes used in the present study. The study confirms that the polyindole based metal oxide nanocomposites samples prepared in the present study showed antibacterial agent activity. The results suggest that proper tuning can make them good antimicrobial agents.