ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Copper-based metal‒organic framework (Cu-MOF) as a cost-effective antimicrobial and antioxidant reagent: synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation

Monty Gulia and Archana Thakur

Department of Chemistry, Chandigarh University, Mohali, India

E-mail: archana.e9358@cumail.in

Received: 24 October 2024  Accepted: 4 April 2025

Abstract:

This study reports the synthesis of a novel copper-based metal‒organic framework (Cu-MOF) using succinic acid and citric acid. The Cu-MOF synthesized via a cost-effective solvothermal method showed significant antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Characterization techniques such as FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX, powder XRD, TGA and BET analysis confirmed the structural and chemical features of the samples, highlighting their crystalline nature, thermal stability and mesoporous nature. The antibacterial activity of the Cu-MOF was tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25922, Escherichia coli ATCC2913, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC39, Bacillus subtilis ATCC23857, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC15692. The antifungal efficiency of the synthesized Cu-MOF was evaluated against the well-known pathogenic fungi Saccharomyces cerevisiae H1086 and Candida albicans ATCC90028. The Cu-MOF demonstrated a dose-dependent antibacterial and antifungal activity, and results showed significant inhibition at concentrations of 50–200 mg/mL. The 72.33% antioxidant activity displayed by the copper-based metal–organic framework via a DPPH free radical scavenging activity assay indicated its potential application as an alternative to available conventional antioxidant. This study describes a better, sustainable, cost effective, and scalable solution for combating microbial infections and oxidative stress.

Keywords: Biomethanol; Coordination Chemistry; Coordination Polymer; Inorganic Chemistry; Lipid peroxides; Metal-organic Frameworks; Copper-based metal‒organic framework; Antibacterial; Antifungal; Antioxidant

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-025-04058-9

Chemical Papers 79 (7) 4317–4329 (2025)