Antibacterial Activity of Copper and CTAB Modified Clays against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>

Antibacterial activity of modified kaolinite and bentonite with antibacterial agents againstPseudomonas aeruginosawas studied. These clays have been modified with only cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and copper (Cu) and the combination of both. Characterization of the studied materials with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyzer and Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) revealed the successful preparation of CTAB-clays, Cu-clays and CTAB-Cu-clays without distorting the structure of these clays. From the antibacterial assay of the studied materials by Inhibition Growth Study and Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) technique, CTAB-Cu-clays have been proven to have the highest antibacterial activity due to the synergistic effect of CTAB and Cu as antibacterial agents. It can be concluded that modification of clays with CTAB and Cu can become new alternative powerful antibacterial agent.