Improved catalytic and bactericidal behavior with in silico molecular docking analysis of barium/chitosan doped tungstate oxide nanoplates

In this paper, hydrothermally prepared doping-dependent (barium-Ba and chitosan-CS) properties of WO₃ nanocomposite were examined. Various concentrations of Ba (3, 6, and 9 wt.%) were systematically added into the binary system (CS-WO₃) nanocomposite. Numerous intrinsic disadvantages of nanoplates as lower surface-to-volume ratio and rapid recombination rate significantly reduced the WO₃ activities. To address these issues, Ba/CS was introduced as a dopant; CS encapsulates the WO₃, which controls particle size and rapidly overcomes the recombination rate issues, resulting in improved catalytic and antimicrobial activity. The catalytic activity of WO₃ and doped WO₃ degraded the MB dye by 99.9% in the presence of a reducing agent (NaBH₄) in acidic and neutral media. The zone of inhibition was determined (using a Vernier Caliper) against Escherichia coli (E. coli) pathogens at low and high dosages to test antimicrobial activity of synthesized nanostructures. These Ba/CS-doped WO₃ nanoparticles have been proposed as putative inhibitors of the DNA gyrase and reeducate of the protein enoyl-acyl carrier (FabI) of E. coli by in silico docking investigation.