Garcia Eduardo Lanzagorta Lanzagorta, Attallah Olivia A A, Mojicevic Marija, Devine Declan M M, Brennan Fournet Margaret
Materials Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland.
Materials (Basel). 2021 Feb 28;14(5):1132. doi: 10.3390/ma14051132.
An innovative antimicrobial technology for plastic surfaces is presented. We report the synthesis and scale-up of triangular silver nanoplates (TSNPs) and their integration into polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactic acid (PLA) polymers through a solvent-casting technique. The TSNPs have a high geometric aspect ratio and strong local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) response, which provides an effective tool for monitoring their integrity during processing and integration with the biodegradable plastics. An aqueous-based seed-mediated chemical method was used to synthesize the TSNPs, and characterisation was carried out using TEM and UV (Ultraviolet)-VIS (Visible) spectroscopy to measure LSPR profiles. The UV-VIS spectra of silver seeds and TSNPs exhibited characteristic peaks at 395 and 600 nm respectively. Synthesized TSNPs were coated with thiol-terminated polyethylene glycol (SH-PEG) and transferred into chloroform in order to effect compatibility with PCL and PLA. TSNP/PCL and TSNP/PLA composite films were prepared by solvent casting. The morphological structure, thermal, mechanical, and antimicrobial properties of the TSNP-incorporated composite films were evaluated. Results showed the TSNP-treated films had a rougher surface than the bare films. Insignificant changes in the thermal properties of TSNP-treated films compared to bare ones were also observed, which indicated the thermal stability of the composite films. The tensile strength and antimicrobial properties of the composite films were increased after TSNP incorporation. TSNP/PCL and TSNP/PLA films exhibited improved antimicrobial activity against and with antimicrobial effect (AE) values ranging between 0.10 and 0.35. The obtained results and demonstrated TSNP production scalability validate the TSNP treated PCL and PLA films as a composite material with desirable antimicrobial effect for wide-ranging surface applications.
本文介绍了一种用于塑料表面的创新抗菌技术。我们报告了三角形银纳米片（TSNPs）的合成与放大，并通过溶剂浇铸技术将其整合到聚己内酯（PCL）和聚乳酸（PLA）聚合物中。TSNPs具有高几何纵横比和强烈的局域表面等离子体共振（LSPR）响应，这为监测其在加工过程中以及与可生物降解塑料整合过程中的完整性提供了有效工具。采用水基种子介导化学方法合成TSNPs，并使用透射电子显微镜（TEM）和紫外可见光谱对其进行表征，以测量LSPR光谱。银种子和TSNPs的紫外可见光谱分别在395和600nm处呈现特征峰。合成的TSNPs用硫醇封端的聚乙二醇（SH-PEG）包覆，并转移到氯仿中，以实现与PCL和PLA的相容性。通过溶剂浇铸制备了TSNP/PCL和TSNP/PLA复合薄膜。对掺入TSNP的复合薄膜的形态结构、热性能、力学性能和抗菌性能进行了评估。结果表明，经TSNP处理的薄膜表面比未处理的薄膜更粗糙。与未处理薄膜相比，TSNP处理薄膜的热性能变化不显著，这表明复合薄膜具有热稳定性。掺入TSNP后，复合薄膜的拉伸强度和抗菌性能有所提高。TSNP/PCL和TSNP/PLA薄膜对[具体菌种]表现出增强的抗菌活性，抗菌效果（AE）值在0.10至0.35之间。所获得的结果以及TSNP生产的可扩展性证明，TSNP处理的PCL和PLA薄膜是一种具有理想抗菌效果的复合材料，可广泛应用于表面领域。
