Water Qual Expo Health (2015) 7:617–625
DOI 10.1007/s12403-015-0167-5
REVIEW PAPER
Application of Low-Cost Materials Coated with Silver
Nanoparticle as Water Filter in Escherichia coli Removal
Sarva Mangala Praveena1 • Ahmad Zaharin Aris2
Received: 12 February 2015 / Revised: 13 April 2015 / Accepted: 13 April 2015 / Published online: 22 April 2015
 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract The incorporation of silver nanoparticles into a
range of low-cost materials as an antibacterial water filter
treatment is a relatively new solution to drinking-water
problems. This review discusses the use of potential low-
cost materials (ceramic, polymeric, polyurethane, agricul-
tural waste and fibre) by incorporating silver nanoparticles
as an antibacterial water filter to remove Escherichia coli
(E. coli). These low-cost materials have shown potential
efficiency in the removal of E. coli, and the silver con-
centration in the effluent is below the permissible limits.
Future perspectives and current knowledge gaps concern-
ing low-cost materials incorporated with silver nanoparti-
cles were also identified. The future perspectives (strengths
and opportunities) of these low-cost materials include cost
effectiveness, easy availability and consumption of mini-
mal electricity. On the other hand, the knowledge gaps
(threats and weaknesses) of these low-cost materials in-
clude the depletion of silver from the surface and the sur-
face-coating technique. The potential risks to human health
due to silver nanoparticles are still unclear and need more
sensitive detection equipment and methods. Nevertheless,
this review helps us determine the potential of low-cost
materials incorporated with silver nanoparticles to treat
microbial-contaminated drinking water, especially in de-
veloping and poor countries.
& Sarva Mangala Praveena
smpraveena@gmail.com
1
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health,
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra
Malaysia, UPM, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia
2 and cost of operation, easy to use and portable (Dankovich
Environmental Forensics Research Centre, Faculty of
Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM,
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords Silver nanoparticles
Low-cost materials

Water quality
Escherichia coli
Human health
Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF (2014)
reported that 1.8 billion people use sources of drinking
water which are faecally contaminated. Faecal con-
tamination in drinking water is crucial as it poses the
greatest danger to public health which can lead to out-
breaks of diseases such as cholera and gastroenteritis
(Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking
Water 2011). The United Nations (2004) stated that gas-
trointestinal disease is a common indicator of poor drink-
ing-water quality.
With the increasing awareness of waterborne diseases
caused by different microorganisms, the search for new and
efficient antibacterial materials is crucial (Zhang et al.
2015; Martins et al. 2012; Phong et al. 2009; Pecson et al.
2009). The developments in nanotechnology have been
applied in drinking-water-treatment systems to remove
pathogenic bacteria. Nanotechnology applications in
drinking-water-treatment systems have received consider-
able attention due to their reliable removal of contaminants
without the production of any harmful by-products, espe-
cially in drinking water. Nanotechnology is providing some
new ways to purify our water at the point-of-use system
(Heidarpour et al. 2011). Point-of-use system involves
treatment units installed at the water-dispensing points
such as at specific tap/faucet. These systems are more ef-
ficient because of savings on overall energy consumption
and Gray 2011). Moreover, review done by Clasen et al.
(2007) has shown that point-of-use system has significantly
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improved drinking-water quality at houses than centralized
water treatment.
Nanoparticles have shown unique physical, chemical
and biological properties compared with macro-scaled
particles. Among inorganic antibacterial agents, silver has
been extensively studied, and its use to fight infections
dates back to ancient times (Bykkam et al. 2015). Silver in
the form of nanoparticles has a high surface-area-to-vol-
ume ratio, which is related to a better bactericidal activity
(Brame et al. 2011). As a result, silver nanoparticles for
drinking-water treatment have been considered due to its
strong and broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities.
Moreover, with the advancement of material development,
silver nanoparticles can be easily deposited on solid ma-
terials for the deactivation of microorganisms in water
treatment (Bottino et al. 2001; Brame et al. 2011; Hei-
darpour et al. 2011; Durán et al. 2010; Kumar et al. 2008).
According to Taurozzia et al. (2008) and Sincero and
Sincero (2003), materials coated with silver nanoparticles
can be grouped into several ways, namely, attachment of
nanoparticles on the pore’s surface and incorporation of
nanoparticles during formation. The common materials
involved in silver nanoparticles’ incorporation for bacterial
removal at point-of-use system are ceramic, cellulose and
cotton fabric. These materials were called as low-cost
materials due to its abundant supply, and can be easily
purchased from industry, agricultural or food production.
The purpose of this review of recent studies is to identify
potential low-cost materials incorporating nanoparticles as
an antibacterial water filter and compare their efficiency
and applicability. In this review, strength, weakness, op-
portunities and threat (SWOT) analysis was applied to
provide an understanding of future perspectives and the
knowledge gaps concerning low-cost materials as an al-
ternative for point-of-use treatment technologies, espe-
cially in developing countries. The last goal of this review
is to provide the state of the knowledge about silver par-
ticles and the potential risks to human health.
Low-Cost Materials
Figure 1 shows the summarized conceptual diagram in-
volving existing technologies in water purification and
application of low-cost materials in nanofiltration. Low
cost in financial parlance means inexpensiveness and af-
fordability. Low-cost materials in drinking-water-treatment
systems are affordable in terms of material cost and can
easily be obtained from industry in bulk quantity. Con-
ventional practices adopted for water purification are di-
vided into physical, chemical and biological methods.
However, these methods suffer from certain limitations
such as high cost, low adsorption capacity and generation
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S. M. Praveena, A. Z. Aris
of toxic sludge (Ho and Sirkar 1991). Review done by
Heidarpour et al. (2011) showed that size, stability, mor-
phology and other physicochemical properties of silver
nanoparticle are strongly influenced by experimental con-
ditions. Moreover, synthesis methods of silver nanoparti-
cles will also influence size, stability and morphology of
silver nanoparticles. However, this review will only be
focused on the performance of low-cost materials as an-
tibacterial water filters incorporated with silver nanoparti-
cles (Table 1).
Although the exact mechanism of the action of silver on
microbes is still unknown, possible mechanisms have been
mentioned by several researchers. According to Curtis
et al. (2010), the possible mechanism is based on the direct
contact between silver and the cell wall of the contaminant
organism (Fig. 1). For bacteria, the reaction begins with the
release of silver ions and is followed by the generation of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) and damage to cell mem-
brane. The interaction of silver ions and the respiratory and
transport protein is due to the high affinity of silver ions.
According to Marambio-Jones and Hoek (2010), silver ions
increase DNA mutation during polymerase chain reactions,
which means the bacteria is not able to grow and replicate.
Metals can act as catalysts and generate ROS in the pres-
ence of dissolved oxygen (1995). Silver nanoparticles may
accelerate the reactions with oxygen leading to excessive
production of free radical from the surface of the silver
nanoparticles and inducing membrane’s damage. The study
by Heidarpour et al. (2011) has successfully shown that
AgNP effectively deactivates bacteria by attaching to the
cell membrane and inhibiting microbial growth. Silver
nanoparticle can penetrate inside the membrane cell wall,
damage the cell, increase permeability, disturb respiration
and damage major functions, such as regulating the enzyme
signal activity as well as the cell oxidation and respiratory
processes (Rai et al. 2009). The DNA molecules will be-
come condensed and lose their ability to replicate, which
will lead to death (Feng et al. 2000). Brown (2007) and Su
et al. (2011) explained that the electrostatic attraction be-
tween a positively charged material (AgNP) and a
negatively charged bacterial cell surface Escherichia coli
(E. coli) is vital for the bactericidal activity of silver
nanoparticles. This understanding can be applied using
silver nanoparticles in the removal process of pathogenic
bacteria in water.
Ceramic
Studies using silver nanoparticles coated in ceramics and
their performance have been conducted by Rayner et al.
(2013), Kallman et al. (2011), Oyanedel-Craver and Smith
(2008), and Brown (2007). Kallman et al. (2011) showed that
the average per cent reduction of E. coli is 92 % with the
Application of Low-Cost Materials Coated with Silver Nanoparticle as Water Filter… 619

Water purification

Ultraviolet Reverse Nanofiltration Ultrafiltration Carbon Biological

Distillation Microultration
treatment Osmosis Filter treatment

Point of Use Point of Entry

Water filter material

Low cost High cost

Ceramic
Polymeric Membrane
Polyurethane
Agricultural waste

Fiber

Fig. 1 Conceptual framework involving existing technologies in water purification

Table 1 Summary of E. coli removal efficiency and silver concentration in filtered water as conducted in the previous studies
Type of materials Removal Removal Silver Filtration References
efficiency efficiency concentration duration
(LRV) (%) (mg/L)

Ceramics
Ceramic materials (clay from Indonesia) 3 10 10 days Rayner et al. (2013)
Ceramic materials (clay from Tanzania) 2.8 10
Ceramic materials (clay from Nicaraguan clay) 2.5 11
Ceramic materials (clay mixed with sawdust) 92 0.02 Kallman et al. (2011)
Ceramic filters (manufactured by combining 40 % soil, 97.8–100 \0.1 Oyanedel-Craver and
10 % flour, and 50 % grog) Smith (2008)
Polymeric membrane
Polyethersulphones 100 0.005 Diagne et al. (2012)
Polysulphone 4 0 Zodrow et al. (2009)
Polyurethane
Polyurethane foams 100 0 Jain and Pradeep (2005)
Agricultural waste
Rice husk ash 1.7 \0.1 He et al. (2014)
Fibre
Synthetic fibre 100 10 Chen et al. (2005)
Activated carbon fibres with activated with phosphoric acid
Natural fibre pure cellulose paper 8.7 0.1 Dankovich and Gray (2011)

average effluent concentration of silver being 0.02 mg/L Oyanedel-Craver and Smith (2008) also showed removal of
[below WHO and the United States Environmental Protec- E. coli of between 97.8 and 100 %. However, the silver
tion Agency (USEPA) drinking-water standard values] using concentration in the effluent was observed to be greater than
ceramic filters coated with silver nanoparticles. Similarly, 0.1 mg/L but dropped below this value after 200 min of

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continuous operation. Oyanedel-Craver and Smith (2008)
suggested that the release of silver from the filters to the
effluent likely depends on the amount of silver coated in the
ceramics, water chemistry and ceramic pore structure. These
studies showed that ceramic filters are typically used for
industrial design and manufacturing processes with high-
purity materials. Thus, it has made the ceramic filters ex-
pensive. However, typically, ceramic filters made from local
materials, such as clay, water, and a combustible organic
material, are cheaper and permeable to water. Kallman et al.
(2011) concluded that increased hydraulic conductivity,
average pore size, and the porosity of the samples might
achieve higher bacteria removal. Combustible organic ma-
terials, such as sawdust concentration, will increase the
porosity and account for a higher uptake of silver nanopar-
ticles that act as a disinfectant. Ceramic filters made from
local materials are air-dried and fired in a flattop kiln at
900 C for 8 h. After the ceramic filters are cooled, they are
coated with silver nanoparticles by either dipping or painting
using a colloidal-silver solution (Oyanedel-Craver and
Smith 2008). Ceramics coated with silver nanoparticles have
been widely used because they are inexpensive and potable
for treating microbial contaminated water (Kallman et al.
2011; Bielefeldt et al. 2009). Moreover, pot-shaped ceramic
filters are placed in a large plastic container with a spigot that
will act as a safe-storage reservoir (Kallman et al. 2011).
According to the Ceramics Manufacturing Working Group
(2011), the current recommended guideline value for AgNP
per ceramic water filter is 64 mg/g.
Polymeric Membrane
Polymeric membranes include polysulphones and
polyethersulphones, and are very competitive in terms of
performance and economical (Kim and Van der Bruggen
2010). These membranes can be considered in water
treatment due to their chain rigidity, chain interactions and
the polarity of their functional groups. In addition, these
membranes offer a low fouling affinity for separating
molecules (Lufrano et al. 2000). The development of low
fouling membranes has been widely applied for the re-
moval of various contaminants from water and wastewater.
Fouling characteristics incorporating silver nanoparticles in
polymeric membranes are crucial to withstand the corro-
siveness of chemical cleaners (Diagne et al. 2012; Ng et al.
2010). For polymeric membranes, nanoparticles are used as
additives in the synthesis procedure or generated in situ
(Kim and Van der Bruggen 2010). The incorporation of
nanoparticles into a polymeric membrane, such as a poly-
sulphone membrane, has been the focus of numerous in-
vestigations in recent years. The preparation method of
nanoparticles incorporating polysulphone membranes in-
volves the wet phase-inversion process. Silver
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S. M. Praveena, A. Z. Aris
nanoparticles are added into the polysulphone membranes
in the casting solution before dissolving using polysul-
phone resin. The asymmetric structures of silver nanopar-
ticles have been observed. The studies of Zodrow et al.
(2009) and Zodrow (2009) showed that little research has
been done concerning its application in water treatment, as
these are the only studies available so far involving the
incorporation of nanoparticles in polysulphone membranes.
Diagne et al. (2012) demonstrated that silver nanoparticles
in polyethersulphones imparted bactericidal activity to
these membranes and exhibited zero E. coli cell growth
with an average silver concentration of 5 lg/L. These
values are lower than the WHO and the USEPA drinking-
water standard values.
Polyurethane
Polyurethanes belong to the class of compounds called
reaction polymers. Most of the polyurethanes produced are
in large blocks of foam. Polyurethane foam is an organic
polymer chain joined by carbamate links. Carbamate links
are expected to bind with the surface of the nanoparticles.
Jain and Pradeep (2005) showed that there is no E. coli
colony was detected after filtration using silver nanoparti-
cles coated in polyurethane foam. This removal of E. coli is
in line with the WHO requirements for drinking water.
However, no silver was reported in the effluent in the study
done by Jain and Pradeep (2005). Polyurethane foam
coated with silver nanoparticles has a long lifetime as it can
be washed, dried and stored for extended periods without
the loss of nanoparticles. Thus, polyurethane foam is one of
the most cost-effective, food-grade polymers available, and
has considerable application in rural communities (Jain and
Pradeep 2005). In addition, polyurethane foam is com-
monly available, cheap, and non-toxic. Moreover, im-
pregnating silver nanoparticles in polyurethane foam is
simple, which enables this technology to be adapted even
to underdeveloped nations with minimum infrastructure.
Agricultural Waste
Agricultural waste can also be coated with silver
nanoparticles to be used as an antibacterial water filter.
Among the agricultural wastes that have been used in
AgNP water filters are rice husks. Rice is predominantly
grown in South East Asian countries (Lim and Aris 2013).
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization
(2004), the world annual rice production is 582 million tons
of which 25 mass% of this production is rice husks. Rice
husk ash (RHA) contains nearly 95 mass% silica and is a
potential renewable source of silica that can be used for
silver nanoparticle immobilization. The preparation of rice
husks for impregnation with silver nanoparticles involves
Application of Low-Cost Materials Coated with Silver Nanoparticle as Water Filter…
combustion. The combustion of rice husks in sufficient air
will lead to the production of white RHA, while the
combustion in insufficient air results in the production of
black RHA (He et al. 2014). The controlled combustion
step is a cheap method of extracting the silica from rice
husks for commercial use. The impregnation of silver
nanoparticles in rice husks exhibits an approximately 1.7
log reduction of E. coli with a low loading of silver in line
with the WHO (2004) and the USEPA (2011) drinking-
water standards. The impregnation of silver nanoparticles
with rice husks is an upcoming material that needs further
investigation concerning the removal rates of silver and
other pathogens including virus, material lifetime, different
water samples and cost optimization.
Fibre
Fibre is a hair like material with continuous filaments
similar to thread. Fibre can be used as a component in
composite materials and incorporated into sheets to make
products such as paper. There are two types of fibre,
namely, natural (consisting of plant and animal fibres) and
synthetic (fibres whose chemical composition, structure,
and properties are significantly modified during the
manufacturing process). Synthetic fibres include carbon
and metallic fibres, while natural fibres include cellulose
and cotton (Vivekanandhan et al. 2012).
Synthetic fibres involving activated carbon fibre (ACF)
have a high specific surface area that makes them an ex-
cellent adsorbent, with high adsorption capacity, higher
reactivity, and with no biological pollution (Chen et al.
2005). Silver nanoparticles on ACFs may induce the for-
mation of an active oxygen group to inhibit the growth of
bacteria or kill them (Park and Jang 2003). The impreg-
nation of silver nanoparticles involves ACF mixing and
spinning with phenolic resin/or petroleum pitch (Oya et al.
1993). However, the mixing and spinning processes reduce
the spinnability and strength of the fibre, and suppress the
development of the micropores of fibre, which will result in
a reduction in the adsorption capacity. Nevertheless, Chen
et al. (2005) developed a new preparation method of im-
pregnating silver nanoparticles in ACF at room tem-
perature by reducing the adsorption. The carbon fibres were
immersed in phosphoric acid and heated to 850 C under
protection to finish its activation and carbonization. The
activated carbons were immersed in a solution containing
silver for 24 h. The ACFs were washed and deionized, and
then the ACFs were washed and deionized to pH 7. The
method developed by Pape et al. (2002), and Chen et al.
(2005) demonstrated that ACF activated under reduction
condition and under the protection of nitrogen for car-
bonization showed stronger antibacterial activity. Chen
et al. (2005) showed that silver nanoparticles coated with
621
ACF exhibited 100 % removal of E. coli with a silver
loading below the WHO (2004) and the USEPA (2011)
drinking-water standards. Chen et al. (2005) concluded that
the antibacterial activity in ACF depends on several fac-
tors, such as the method of activation, silver content and
the specific surface area of the ACFs.
Natural fibres, such as cellulose substrates—bacterial
cellulose, filter paper and cotton fabric—have also been
used as antibacterial water filters. Cotton fabrics with silver
nanoparticles are used more in the medical field to mini-
mize infection with pathogenic bacteria (Durán et al.
2010). Since 2011, silver nanoparticles coated with natural
fibres, such as bacterial cellulose and filter paper, have
attracted considerable interest in water filter research ap-
plications due to the technological interest, such as re-
newable biodegradable materials (environmentally
friendly) and sustainable resources (Pinto et al. 2012; Tang
et al. 2009). Besides cellulose extraction from plants, cel-
lulose can be produced by different types of bacteria named
as bacterial cellulose. However, this method involves a
complex and expensive process involving chemical treat-
ment and mechanical disintegration procedures. Thus,
other ways to obtain cellulose fibres to impregnate with
silver nanoparticles have been researched. Cellulose is a
primary component in paper. Cellulose in filter paper acts
as a good material for silver nanoparticle impregnation due
to its absorption, and one of the most promising point-of-
use drinking-water-treatment technologies involves using
cellulose in absorbent blotting papers. Blotting paper is a
pure cellulose paper with no additives in a thick sheet
(0.5–0.8 mm). The porosity of blotting paper allows bac-
teria, such as E. coli, to come into contact with the coated
silver nanoparticles in the blotting paper. Coated silver
nanoparticles in blotting paper have shown the removal of
E. coli with a log reduction of 8.7 (Dankovich and Gray
2011). The silver loading in the effluent was below the
WHO (2004) and the USEPA (2011) drinking-water stan-
dards. Absorbent blotting paper allows for a reasonably
rapid flow by gravity without the need for pressure or
suction, which also minimizes the usage of electricity for
the drinking-water-treatment systems (Dankovich and Gray
2011). Silver nanoparticles incorporated into absorbent
blotting paper have various advantages. These include that
they can be used for small scale or point-of-use systems,
they are cheap compared to other membrane filters (small
investment) and they provide a fast filtration process
compared to other membrane filters that is highly potable,
non-toxic, easily adaptable by house owners, environ-
mentally friendly and requires low energy input from the
sustainable development standpoint because of the auto-
matic capillary absorption of the fibre (Kong and Fu 2012;
Brame et al. 2011; Guo 2011). Importantly, silver
nanoparticles incorporated into absorbent blotting paper
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can be applied to remove E. coli in emergency situations,
such as disaster relief, as it only requires low energy input.
Disasters, such as floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes, often
result in the spread of diseases like cholera and gastroen-
teritis due to the immediate shortage of clean drinking
water. In addition, water-treatment facilities using AgNP
incorporating absorbent blotting paper can be applied in
rural and remote areas facing E. coli contamination in
drinking water, as they only require a small training session
for the house owners. Nevertheless, more research and
applications in this area are required to understand the
impact of the different factors involved and the ways to
convince potential house owners and other users to adopt
incorporation of silver nanoparticles into absorbent blotting
paper.
Future Perspectives and Current Knowledge Gaps
A SWOT analysis has been applied to highlight the future
perspectives (strengths and opportunities) and current
knowledge gaps (threats and weaknesses) of application of
nanoparticles in low-cost materials (Table 2). Opportuni-
ties and threats are factors of the external environment
(external issue), while strengths and weakness are factors
of the system (internal issues). Notably, SWOT analysis
helps to find the best match between environmental trends
(opportunities and threats) and internal capabilities
(strengths and weakness). In the application of SWOT
analysis, weakness and threats should be minimized and
avoided. Weakness should be improved into strengths,
whereas threats should be converted into opportunities
(Lim and Aris 2013; Praveena and Aris 2009).
Nanotechnology is a fast moving technology in the
water-treatment field due to its strengths. Some of theAQ
strengths of the low cost materials coated with silver
nanoparticles based on the SWOT analysis include cost
effective, easily obtained, low cost materials, by-products
from agricultural waste and minimizes electricity usage.
These strengths are the most important keys for using these
materials as a new alternative for water treatment (Pradeep
and Anshup 2009). One example of agricultural waste is
using rice husks, which is a low-cost material for mem-
brane water filters, which is readily available as a waste
from rice production. Using rice husks as a low-cost ma-
terial will help in reducing pollution and the use of agri-
cultural water. Furthermore, rice husks have been shown to
be remarkably effective in the removal of E. coli (99.9 %)
with silver of less than 0.1 mg/L. By using natural fibres
(cellulose), blotting paper coated with silver nanoparticles
has shown the highest log removal value, LRV, of 8.7. This
is because blotting paper has a fast filtration process with
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S. M. Praveena, A. Z. Aris
automatic capillary absorption and with low energy input.
However, using polyurethane foam enables the materials to
be washed and stored for an extended duration. Impor-
tantly, this material has also demonstrated 100 % removal
of E. coli, which will promote the sustainability of water-
treatment filter materials. In addition, the effective removal
capability with low energy consumption and no secondary
waste produced after the water filtration process is also a
bonus from these low-cost materials. Low-cost materials
coated with silver nanoparticles based on the SWOT ana-
lysis can provide a sustainable point-of-use water-treat-
ment technology for developing and poor countries. This is
because most of these low-cost materials are cheap com-
pared to other membranes, non-toxic and easy to distribute
(Ren et al. 2013; Oyanedel-Craver and Smith 2008).
However, this sustainable point-of-use still needs ap-
propriate scale-up strategies (Brown 2007). In addition,
the opportunities for low-cost materials coated with silver
nanoparticles, and better methods and techniques in terms
of silver fixation and coating, as well as the optimization
of silver nanoparticle’s addition should be further ex-
plored. Moreover, cost optimization versus time perfor-
mance needs further investigation concerning the
performance of low-cost materials as a function of E. coli
and silver loading in effluent. Following the cost opti-
mization versus time performance, a prototype of water
filtration design can be designed to be tested in field
water samples. Finally, prototype designs provide the
opportunities to produce more marketable low-cost ma-
terials coated with silver nanoparticles for water-treat-
ment industries, especially in developing and poor
countries (Bielefeldt et al. 2009; Chou et al. 2005).
The current knowledge gaps (threats and weakness)
relating to the low-cost materials have been listed using
SWOT analysis. Low-cost materials face a loss of ef-
fectiveness in terms of their antimicrobial properties due
to the depletion of silver from the membrane surface
(Qu et al. 2013; Bielefeldt et al. 2009). A knowledge
gap is seen in terms of silver released in the effluent,
which needs to be better understood (Zodrow et al.
2009). Potential studies have been carried out to explore
better surface-coating techniques perhaps through
nanoparticle surface functionalization in low-cost mate-
rials to reduce silver release into the effluent. Moreover,
future studies on separation technology, such as mag-
netic separation can be applied to mount silver
nanoparticles in effluent onto magnetic platforms. This
magnetic separation has been similarly applied to re-
move arsenic from water by Yavuz et al. (2006). The
magnetic separation technique uses a very low magnetic
field gradient to remove particles from the solution, and
is considered to be more selective, rapid and efficient
(Yavuz et al. 2006).
Application of Low-Cost Materials Coated with Silver Nanoparticle as Water Filter… 623

Table 2 Summary of SWOT analysis for low-cost materials incorporated with silver nanoparticles in Escherichia coli removal
Future perspectives
Strengths Opportunity

• Cheap and low-cost materials (Pradeep and Anshup 2009) • Needs appropriate scale-up strategies (Brown 2007)
• Minimizes electricity usage (Pradeep and Anshup 2009) • A better method and technique for silver fixation and coating
• A sustainable point-of-use water-treatment technology for (Bielefeldt et al. 2009)
developing and poor countries (Ren et al. 2013; Oyanedel-Craver and • Further investigation on performance versus time (Chou et al. 2005)
Smith 2008) • Prototype designs can produce marketable water filters especially in
• Non-toxic and easy to distribute (Ren et al. 2013; Oyanedel-Craver developing and poor countries (Bielefeldt et al. 2009; Chou et al.
and Smith 2008) 2005)
• Low energy input (Dankovich and Gray 2011)
• Can be washed and stored for an extended duration (Jain and Pradeep
2005)
• Shown to have anti-biofouling ability (Dror-Ehre et al. 2012)
Knowledge gaps
Threats Weakness

• Pre-treatment and pre-washing processes are needed • Loss of effectiveness in terms of their antimicrobial properties due to the depletion
(Marambio-Jones and Hoek 2010) of silver from the membrane surface (Qu et al. 2013; Bielefeldt et al. 2009)
• Extra chemicals to for silver fixation onto low-cost • Usually, low-cost materials are not in ready-to use form and need to undergo pre-
materials (Pradeep and Anshup 2009) treatment and pre-washing process (Marambio-Jones and Hoek 2010)

Potential Human Health Risks Due to Silver DNA damage in the CaCo-2 human intestinal cell line and
Nanoparticle cell uptake.

Silver nanoparticles and their potential risks to environ-

mental and human health are an increasing concern
(Fabrega et al. 2011). Although the silver concentration in
water is lower than the WHO (2004) drinking-water stan-
dard and the USEPA (2011) (0.1 mg/L), the ingestion of
silver nanoparticles may pose a potential risk to human
health. Report done by Fewtrell (2014) showed that the
greatest silver deposition is found to be in liver and kidney.
Park et al. (2010) demonstrated preferential tissue silver
accumulation in mice exposed to smaller AgNP (22 nm).
Further research is needed to understand the transforma-
tion, exposure, and bioavailability of silver nanoparticles
when ingested by humans. Sensitive instruments (ICPMS)
and detection methods are also necessary to determine the
effects of silver nanoparticles on humans. Although more
sensitive detection equipment and methods are costly and
time consuming, the lack of an accurate means of detection
of silver nanoparticles has limited our understanding of the
potential risks of silver nanoparticles with regards to hu-
man health. Potential human health risks due to silver
toxicity include increased blood pressure, kidney damage,
gastrointestinal irritation, cancer and neurological damage
(USEPA 2013). A few in vitro studies undertaken by Ab-
bott-Chalew et al. (2013), and Gerloff et al. (2012) on
exposure to silver nanoparticles have shown cytotoxicity,
Conclusions
Various low-cost, silver nanoparticle coated membranes
(ceramic, polymeric, polyurethane foam, agricultural waste
and fibre) have been used as an antibacterial water filter.
These low-cost materials have proven their potential effi-
ciency in the removal of E. coli and low silver concen-
tration in filtered water. These low-cost materials can be
used as alternatives to replace those used in the conven-
tional drinking-water-treatment technology, which is ex-
pensive and involves the addition of chemicals. The SWOT
analysis output showed the future perspectives (strengths
and opportunities) and current knowledge gaps (threats and
weaknesses) of these low-cost materials. Cost effective,
easily obtainable by-products from agricultural waste with
minimal electricity usage are the strengths of these mate-
rials, while the opportunities for these low-cost materials
are seen as a sustainable point-of-use water-treatment
technology for developing and poor countries. The
knowledge gaps (threats and weakness) relating to low-cost
materials according to the SWOT analysis can be ad-
dressed by future studies on better surface-coating tech-
niques of silver nanoparticles in low-cost materials and
magnetic separation techniques to remove silver released

123
624
from the membrane’s surface after filtration. The under-
standing concerning the potential risks of silver nanopar-
ticles on human health is still limited and requires more
sensitive equipment and detection methods due to its low
concentration. However, the silver concentration in effluent
filtered using low-cost membranes coated with silver
nanoparticles in water is lower than the WHO (2004) and
the USEPA (2011) drinking-water standards, which indi-
cates that these low-cost materials are highly recommended
as being cost effective, affordable and appropriate for local
condition water-treatment technology, especially in devel-
oping countries.
Acknowledgments This work is funded by Fundamental Research
Grant Scheme (Vot number 5524280), Ministry of Higher Education,
Malaysia.
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