Synthesis and Characterization of Nano-selenium and its Antibacterial Response on Some Important Human Pathogens

Synthesis of nano-selenium was achieved from sodium selenite by a simple precipitation method using the reducing power of ascorbic acid. The high-speed centrifuge was used to separate selenium nanoparticles from aqueous solution. The selenium nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and transmission electron microscope. Presence of various functional groups responsible for the production and stability of the nanoparticles was confirmed by FT-IR. Some of the important human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used for examining the antibacterial response of selinium nanoparticles. Results of this study demonstrate that synthesized selenium nanoparticles exhibit a spherical shape with average diameter range between 15 and 18 nm. They can be used as an antibacterial agent and also in medicinal applications for the treatment of humans with certain bacterial diseases.