Preparation of CTAB-loaded magnetic nanospheres for rapid bacterial capture and decontamination

Abstract CTAB-loaded Fe 3 O 4 core/silica shell nanospheres were successfully prepared via a simple two-step process. The cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) molecules embedded in the mesoporous silica shell endowed the magnetic nanoshperes with both a broad-range bacteria capturing capacity and an excellent antibacterial activity. The antibacterial property of these CTAB-loaded magnetic nanospheres against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria) and Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive bacteria) was then tested by the usual twofold serial dilution method, and their bacteria capturing capacity was also investigated in this letter. Our results indicated the Fe 3 O 4 @ m SiO 2 /CTAB nanospheres fabricated in this study have great potential application for bacteria rapid capturing and killing from the contaminated source.