Preparation of Polymer Nanocomposites with Enhanced Antimicrobial Properties
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Preparation of Polymer Nanocomposites with Enhanced Antimicrobial Properties Beatriz L. España-Sánchez1, Carlos A. Ávila-Orta1*, Maria G. Neira-Velázquez1, Silvia G. SolísRosales1 and Pablo González -Morones1. 1
Centro de Investigación en Química Aplicada (CIQA), Blvd. Enrique Reyna H. 140, Saltillo, Coah. C.P. 25294, México. *[email protected] ABSTRACT Plasma surface activation and antibacterial properties of nanocomposites of polypropylene/silver nanoparticles (PP/nAg) and nylon-6/silver nanoparticles (Ny6/nAg) were investigated. The nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending assisted by ultrasound, while surface activation was achieved by means of argon plasma. To evaluate the antimicrobial properties of the nanocomposites, pathogen microorganisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus niger were tested. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses showed a uniform dispersion of nanoparticles within the polymer matrix, though the presence of some agglomerates was also appreciated. On the other hand, surface topography by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) suggested that ions from the argon plasma generated ion collisions with the surface of the nanocomposites removing or etching polymer from surface and improving silver nanoparticles exposure, increasing their antimicrobial properties as corroborated by antimicrobial analyses. Nanocomposites exposed to argon plasma presented higher antimicrobial properties than the ones not exposed. These results indicated that plasma treatment increased the contact area of the nanoparticles with the microorganisms and enhanced the antimicrobial properties of nanocomposites. The results also showed that PP/nAg nanocomposites presented higher bacterial inhibition than Ny6/nAg nanocomposites, indicating that the chemical structure of the polymer also plays a big role in the final performance of the composite. Keywords: Nanocomposites, plasma, antimicrobial. INTRODUCTION In recent years, the incorporation of nanometric fillers in polymer matrices has attracted great interest in several fields of science and technology to develop new materials with improved physical, thermal, electrical, and antimicrobial properties, these materials are known as nanocomposites. One of the main problems found in the preparation of polymer nanocomposites, in particular of Polypropylene (PP) and Nylon-6 (Ny6) is the lack of homogeneous dispersion of the nanoparticles into the polymer matrix hindering the enhancement of their bulk properties [1]. In particular, the preparation of nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties results in particles embedded completely in the bulk of the polymer, limiting their interaction with pathogen microorganisms, and reducing severely their antimicrobial behavior [2-5]. Recent researches [34, 6-7] indicated that in some cases, a higher concentration of nanoparticles is required in order to observe an inhibitory effect of microorganisms. According to the above, it is also considered that preparation of nanocomposites with enhanced antimicrobial properties is restricte
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