Design and fabrication of magnetic Fe3O4-QSM nanoparticles loaded with ciprofloxacin as a potential antibacterial agent

In this investigation, we have synthesized magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) coated with quince seed mucilage (QSM) as a natural, biocompatible, and biodegradable component and loaded them with ciprofloxacin (CIP) to act as an antibacterial agent. The structural, magnetic, physicochemical, colloidal, and antibacterial properties of the samples were tested using various characterization tools such as XRD, TEM, FE-SEM, VSM, FT-IR, UV–Vis, DLS, BET, and disk diffusion for testing the antibacterial properties. XRD and VSM results confirmed the fabrication of a highly pure cubic spinel phase for Fe₃O₄. The results of FE-SEM and TEM analyses indicate a spherical morphology of the magnetite NPs with a mean diameter of about 13 nm, and the results of DLS show a hydrodynamic diameter of 81.9 to 119.2 nm. The zeta potential value for the magnetic Fe₃O₄ NPs was as high as −55.2 mV, indicating …