Aina, Samuel TomiKyomuhimbo, Hilda DinahRamjee, ShatishDu Plessis, Barend JacobusMjimba, VuyoMaged, AliHaneklaus, NilsBrink, Hendrik Gideon2024-08-302024-08-302023-06-08Aina, S.T.; Kyomuhimbo, H.D.; Ramjee, S.; Du Plessis, B.; Mjimba, V.; Maged, A.; Haneklaus, N.; Brink, H.G. Synthesis and Assessment of Antimicrobial Composites of Ag Nanoparticles or AgNO3 and Egg Shell Membranes. Molecules 2023, 28, 4654. https:// DOI.org/10.3390/molecules28124654.1420-3049 (online)10.3390/molecules28124654http://hdl.handle.net/2263/97954DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS : FIGURE S1: ESM/AgNO3 EDSMap; FIGURE S2: ESM/AgNO3 EDSMap; FIGURE S3: ESMEDSMap; FIGURE S4: TEMimage of particles AgNPs particles at different magnifications.Engineering research has been expanded by the advent of material fusion, which has led to the development of composites that are more reliable and cost-effective. This investigation aims to utilise this concept to promote a circular economy by maximizing the adsorption of silver nanoparticles and silver nitrate onto recycled chicken eggshell membranes, resulting in optimized antimicrobial silver/eggshell membrane composites. The pH, time, concentration, and adsorption temperatures were optimized. It was confirmed that these composites were excellent candidates for use in antimicrobial applications. The silver nanoparticles were produced through chemical synthesis using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent and through adsorption/surface reduction of silver nitrate on eggshell membranes. The composites were thoroughly characterized by various techniques, including spectrophotometry, atomic absorption spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as agar well diffusion and MTT assay. The results indicate that silver/eggshell membrane composites with excellent antimicrobial properties were produced using both silver nanoparticles and silver nitrate at a pH of 6, 25 C, and after 48 h of agitation. These materials exhibited remarkable antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis, resulting in 27.77% and 15.34% cell death, respectively.en© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.CompositesSilver nanoparticlesEggshell membraneAdsorptionCharacterizationSDG-12: Responsible consumption and productionArticle