Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5003, United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Feb 7;46(3):1804-10. doi: 10.1021/es202374e. Epub 2012 Jan 10.
The antibacterial properties of a nanocomposite containing an electroactive polymer, polyvinyl-N-carbazole (PVK) (97 wt %), and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) (3 wt %) was investigated as suspensions in water and as thin film coatings. The toxic effects of four different PVK-SWNT (97:3 wt %) nanocomposite concentrations (1, 0.5, 0.05, and 0.01 mg/mL) containing 0.03, 0.015, 0.0015, and 0.0003 mg/mL of SWNT, respectively, were determined for planktonic cells and biofilms of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). The results showed that the nanocomposite PVK-SWNT had antibacterial activity on planktonic cells and biofilms at all concentration levels. Higher bacterial inactivation (94% for E. coli and 90% for B. subtilis) were achieved in planktonic cells at a PVK-SWNT concentration of 1 mg/mL. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging showed significant reduction of biofilm growth on PVK-SWNT coated surfaces. This study established for the first time that the improved dispersion of SWNTs in aqueous solutions in the presence of PVK enhances the antimicrobial effects of SWNTs at very low concentrations. Furthermore, PVK-SWNT can be used as an effective thin film coating material to resist biofilm formation.
一种含有电活性聚合物聚 N-乙烯基咔唑 (PVK)（97wt%）和单壁碳纳米管 (SWNT)（3wt%）的纳米复合材料的抗菌性能作为水悬浮液和薄膜涂层进行了研究。分别含有 0.03、0.015、0.0015 和 0.0003 mg/mL SWNT 的四种不同 PVK-SWNT（97:3wt%）纳米复合材料浓度（1、0.5、0.05 和 0.01mg/mL）对浮游细胞和大肠杆菌 (E. coli) 和枯草芽孢杆菌 (B. subtilis) 的生物膜的毒性作用进行了测定。结果表明，纳米复合材料 PVK-SWNT 在所有浓度水平上对浮游细胞和生物膜均具有抗菌活性。在 PVK-SWNT 浓度为 1mg/mL 时，浮游细胞中的细菌失活率更高（E. coli 为 94%，B. subtilis 为 90%）。原子力显微镜 (AFM) 成像显示，在 PVK-SWNT 涂层表面上生物膜的生长明显减少。本研究首次建立了在 PVK 存在下 SWNTs 在水溶液中的分散性得到改善，从而在非常低的浓度下增强了 SWNTs 的抗菌效果。此外，PVK-SWNT 可用作有效的薄膜涂层材料，以抵抗生物膜的形成。
