Abstract:
Silver nanoparticles have gained worldwide attention in the scientific community due to their
high antimicrobial activity. However, they tend to agglomerate and lose their shape and properties, thus capping agents necessary to protect their shapes, sizes, and properties. To enhance their
antimicrobial activity, this research aimed to cap silver nanoparticles with cellulosic matrices from
wheat straws. The wheat straw was delignified with 6% HNO3, and the residual was treated with
1% NaOH and NaClO: CH3COOH (1:1), then used to synthesize cellulose nanocrystals via acid
hydrolysis. AgNPs were incorporated into the CPC and CNCs by in-situ synthesis using NaHB4 as
the reducing agent. Fourier Transform Infrared, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-ray diffraction
were used to investigate their features. The findings exhibited crystallinity increased with subsequent treatments, according to XRD analysis. Ultraviolet-visible, FTIR, TEM, and XRD analysis confirmed the capping of AgNPs onto the cellulosic materials. Antibacterial activity against
Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with CNCs-AgNPs composite, exhibited higher activity
compared to CPC-AgNPs composite due to the increased surface area and excellent binding on
the surface of the composite
