Fabrication of Fe₃O₄@CuO core-shell from MOF based materials and its antibacterial activity

Magnetic Fe₃O₄@CuO nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was successfully synthesized via direct calcinations of magnetic Fe₃O₄@HKUST-1 in air atmosphere. The morphology, structure, magnetic and porous properties of the as-synthesized nano composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the nanocomposite material included a Fe₃O₄ core and a CuO shell. The Fe₃O₄@CuO core-shell can be separated easily from the medium by a small magnet. The antibacterial activity of Fe₃O₄-CuO core-shell was investigated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A new mechanism was proposed for inactivation of bacteria over the prepared sample. It was demonstrated that the core-shell exhibit recyclable antibacterial activity, acting as an ideal long-acting antibacterial agent. - Graphical abstract: Fe₃O₄@CuO core-shell release of copper ions. These Cu²⁺ ions were responsible for the exhibited antibacterial activity. - Highlights: • The Fe₃O₄@CuO core-shell was prepared by MOF method. • This is the first study of antibacterial activity of core-shell consist of CuO and Fe₃O₄. • The core-shell can be reused effectively. • Core-shell was separated from the reaction solution by external magnetic field.