Adsorption effect of Zn+2 and Co+2 on the antibacterial properties of SiC-porcelain ceramics

Abstract

This investigation reports the adsorption effect of Cobalt and Zinc ions on the antibacterial properties of Silicon Carbide (SiC) added fired Porcelain based ceramics against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Incorporation of SiC in porcelain composition shows decrease in bulk density and increase in apparent porosity gradually upto 15 weight percent addition. The bulk density and apparent porosity of 15 wt% SiC added porcelain are 2.01 g/cm(3) and 24.03%, respectively. Phase and microstructural charecterization reveals that fine grained interlocked mullite network with little unconverted quartz and carborandum are uniformly distributed in the microstructure. Co+2 and Zn+2 adsorption on exposed surface is calculated to be similar to 0.42 mg/cm(2) and Inductively coupled mass plasma spectroscopy (ICP-MS) shows that 1641.41 ppm of Co+2 and 1936.37 ppm of Zn+2 are leached in water from adsorbed surface. This is the first report where, transition metal specific antibacterial efficacy of SiC added porcelain-based ceramics are investigated. This report reveals that both Co+2 and Zn+2 adsorption results in antibacterial efficacy against E coli and S aureus and Co+2 adsorption is superior to (zone of inhibition is similar to 1.3 cm more depending on bacteria and sample specifications) Zn+2 adsorption.