The increasing bacterial resistance and negative impacts of the present antibacterial agents have led to the search for novel antibacterial agents. This study focuses on the influence of synthetic methods on the aggregation stability and antibacterial activity of gold nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by using sodium citrate as a reducing and capping agent against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Gold NPs were synthesized using a simple and rapid sonochemical method and compared to gold NPs synthesized using a reduction method. The physicochemical features of gold NPs were characterized using UV-vis, XRD, TEM, and zeta potential, and the TEM results showed that the sonochemical method produced monodispersed spherical gold NPs with an average diameter of 18.5 nm, while the reduction method produced NPs with an average diameter of around 20 nm. The sonochemical method produced gold NPs with excellent stability (−48 mV) compared to the reduction method (−21 mV). The gold NPs with high stability also exhibited strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus present in water, indicating their potential use in water purification processes to limit bacterial growth. The outcomes of this research are expected to significantly contribute to the creation of new drugs by paving the way for the development of novel strategies to combat pathogens using highly stable gold nanoparticles. These gold NPs, produced via the sonochemical method, have the potential to be employed as beneficial nanocompounds in the medical industry.

The incorporation of additional functional groups such as bismuth nanoparticles (Bi NPs) into magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) is critical for their properties modification, stabilization, and multi-functionalization in biomedical applications. In this work, ultrasound has rapidly modified iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) NPs via incorporating their surface through coating with Bi NPs, creating unique Fe₃O₄@Bi composite NPs. The Fe₃O₄@Bi nanocomposites were synthesized and statistically optimized using an ultrasonic probe and response surface methodology (RSM). A face-centered central composite design (FCCD) investigated the effect of preparation settings on the stability, size, and size distribution of the nanocomposite. Based on the numerical desirability function, the optimized preparation parameters that influenced the responses were determined to be 40 ml, 5 ml, and 12 min for Bi concentration, sodium borohydride (SBH) concentration, and sonication time, respectively. It was found that the sonication time was the most influential factor in determining the responses. The predicted values for the zeta potential, hydrodynamic size, and polydispersity index (PDI) at the highest desirability solution (100%) were -45 mV, 122 nm, and 0.257, while their experimental values at the optimal preparation conditions were -47.1 mV, 125 nm, and 0.281, respectively. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) result shows that the ultrasound efficiently stabilized and functionalized Fe₃O₄NPs following modification to Fe₃O₄@Bi NPs, improved the zeta potential value from -33.5 to -47.1 mV, but increased the hydrodynamic size from 98 to 125 nm. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) validated the elemental compositions and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of Sumac (Rhus coriaria) compounds in the composition of the nanocomposites. The stability and biocompatibility of Fe₃O₄@Bi NPs were improved by using the extract solution of the Sumacedible plant. Other physicochemical results revealed that Fe₃O₄NPs and Fe₃O₄@Bi NPs were crystalline, semi-spherical, and monodisperse with average particle sizes of 11.7 nm and 19.5 nm, while their saturation magnetization (Ms) values were found to be 132.33 emu/g and 92.192 emu/g, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity of Fe₃O₄@Bi NPs on the HEK-293 cells was dose- and time-dependent. Based on our findings, the sonochemical approach efficiently produced (and RSM accurately optimized) an extremely stable, homogeneous, and biocompatible Fe₃O₄@Bi NPs with multifunctional potential for various biomedical applications.

In this work, we investigate the effects of the different sizes of gold (Au) plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) on the rear surface of flexible black silicon (b-Si) wafer. The flexible b-Si (65 μm thickness) is fabricated by aluminum-assisted chemical etching (AACE) process, utilizing aluminum (Al) as the catalyst. After the b-Si fabrication, nanopores are produced on the flexible wafer surface. Then, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) are spin-coated on the rear side of the flexible b-Si, followed by surface morphological and optical characterizations. The Au NPs with sizes of 24–92 nm have been deposited on the rear surface of the b-Si wafer. Based on the optical characterization, light absorbance increases above wavelength 800 nm due to enhanced light scattering by the Au NPs at the back surface. The average reflectance (R_ave) is calculated in the 300 nm–1100 nm wavelength range for flexible crystalline silicon (c-Si) reference and compared with flexible b-Si surface and flexible b-Si/Au NPs. The lowest R_ave of 15.4% is achieved for Au NPs with average size of 92 nm.