ABSTRACT
Nanomaterials has attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to its properties that allow applications in several areas such as chemistry, physics, medicine, pharmaceuticals, and engineering. In the nanomaterial universe, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have awakened the interest of several researchers because of their bactericidal potential. Recent studies have correlated the efficacy of antimicrobial activity with the surfacevolume ratio, morphology, polydispersity, particle size and AgNPs stability. This work aimed to understand the influence of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the AgNPs properties. The synthesis of AgNPs was performed by chemical reduction of silver ions with sodium borohydride in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and sodium citrate. To determine the influence caused by H2O2 and NaBH4, different concentrations and volume variations were used and a Fisher’s exact test was applied to determine the significance between variables. The samples were characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Zeta Potential. Results determined that the Fisher’s exact test along with the obtained results of variables of particle size, stability and polydispersity are statistically the same, that is, the variables do not influence statistically the formation of the particles, as well as the influence caused by H2O2 and NaBH4 variation on the AgNPs properties. In summary, variation of NaBH4 concentration and H2O2 volume causes effects under the diameter, stability and polydispersity of AgNPs which have been studied and described herein.
Keywords
Nanoscience; silver nanoparticles; Fisher’s exact test
