In this study, sodium alginate was extracted from Sargassum algae, collected from coastal waters of
Bushehr, Persian Gulf, Iran and used as a stabilizing and wrapping agent for CuO nanoparticles. The
synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by some spectroscopic and microscopic techniques,
such as IR, XRD, Uv–vis, BET, BJH, zeta potential, SEM, TEM, HR-TEM, and XPS. The antibacterial
effects of the CuO–alginate nanocomposite against some bacteria, isolated from a burn wound, were
evaluated. The results showed that this nanocomposite had better antibacterial effects than its components on Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, Streptococcus
pyogenes ATCC 19615, and Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 49461. Among these, Staphylococcus
aureus ATCC 12600 was the most sensitive one to this nanocomposite, with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (2.08 mg mL1
) observed. Moreover, the synthesized nanocomposite showed good
catalytic activity in the oxidative coupling of carboxylic acids with N,N-dialkylformamides toward the
synthesis of amides.