RESEARCH PAPER Antibacterial effect of bismuth subsalicylate nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation Mariela Flores-Castan ˜eda . Alejandro L. Vega-Jime ´nez . Argelia Almaguer-Flores . Enrique Camps . Mario Pe ´rez . Phaedra Silva-Bermudez . Edgardo Berea . Sandra E. Rodil Received: 25 June 2015 / Accepted: 24 October 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015 Abstract The antimicrobial properties of bismuth subsalicylate (BSS) nanoparticles against four oppor- tunistic pathogens; E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and S. epidermidis were determined. BSS nanoparti- cles were synthesized by pulse laser ablation of a solid target in distilled water under different conditions. The nanoparticles were characterized using high-resolu- tion transmission electron microscopy and absorption spectra and small angle X-ray scattering. The analysis shows that the colloids maintained the BSS structure and presented average particle size between 20 and 60 nm, while the concentration ranges from 95 to 195 mg/L. The antibacterial effect was reported as the inhibition ratio of the bacterial growth after 24 h and the cell viability was measured using the XTT assay. The results showed that the inhibition ratio of E. coli and S. epidermidis was dependant on the NPs size and/ or concentration, meanwhile P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were more sensitive to the BSS nanoparticles independently of both the size and the concentration. In general, the BSS colloids with average particle size of 20 nm were the most effective, attaining inhibition ratios [ 80 %, similar or larger than those obtained with the antibiotic used as control. The results suggest that the BSS colloids could be used as effective antibacterial agents with potential applications in the medical area. Keywords Bismuth subsalicylate Á Nanoparticles Á Laser ablation Á Antimicrobial effect Á Health effects M. Flores-Castan ˜eda Á E. Camps Á M. Pe ´rez Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Apdo. Postal 18-1027, CP 11801 Mexico, D. F., Mexico A. L. Vega-Jime ´nez (&) Á A. Almaguer-Flores Facultad de Odontologı ´a, DEPeI, I, Universidad Nacional Auto ´noma de Me ´xico, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, CP 04510 Mexico, D. F., Mexico e-mail: argelia.almaguer@mac.com P. Silva-Bermudez Unidad de Ingenierı ´a de Tejidos, Terapia Celular y Medicina Regenerativa, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacio ´n, Calz. Me ´xico-Xochimilco No. 289, Col. Arenal de Guadalupe, CP 14389 Mexico, D. F., Mexico E. Berea FarmaQuimia SA de CV., Ampere No. 11, Parque Industrial Cuamatla, CP 54730 Cuautitlan Izcalli, Estado de Me ´xico, Mexico S. E. Rodil Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Auto ´noma de Me ´xico, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, CP 04510 Mexico, D. F., Mexico 123 J Nanopart Res (2015) 17:431 DOI 10.1007/s11051-015-3237-5