Bacterial resistant infections represent the second leading cause
of mortality worldwide, being responsible for almost the 14% of
the global deaths according to figures of 2019.
Nanoparticles of noble metals have received special attention
because of their outstanding bactericidal activity, that is
intrinsically linked to their physico-chemical properties, an asset
that makes them an appealing alternative to combat resistant
microorganisms. So as to optimize their applications within the
biomedical field, it becomes relevant to develop and employ
means to influence and act upon nanoparticles’ physico-chemical
characteristics.
In this research, palladium nanoparticles were synthesized via
laser ablation. A nanosecond Nd:YVO4 laser operating at 532 nm
was employed to ablate a palladium target immersed in deionized
water in order to obtain the colloidal suspension. Then, the
previous suspension was passed twice through a re-irradiation
system to narrow the size and size distribution of palladium
nanoparticles. Bacterial assays with Staphylococcus aureus
revealed an effect of size on the bactericidal behaviour of
palladium nanoparticles.This work was partially supported by the Government of
Spain (PID2020-117900RB-I00 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE),
EQC2018-004315-P (AEI/FEDER UE), FPU21/04488),
Xunta de Galicia (ED431C 2019/23) and University of
Vigo (Margarita Salas Postdoc Fellowship Program, M.
Fernández Arias & P. Pou-Álvarez)
