Enhanced electrical conductivity and antibacterial properties of bacterial cellulose composite membrane decorated with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin/magnetic particle/alpha-lipoic acid/nano silver.

The electrical conductivity and antibacterial properties are crucial characteristics for bacterial cellulose (BC) based membranes to be broadly applied in the field of wearable electronics. In the study, to achieve these aims, alpha-lipoic acid (LA) was utilized as anchoring groups and reducing agent, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) capped magnetic particles (FeO NPs) and the in-situ formed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were sequentially incorporated into the BC matrix to fabricate BC based nanocomposite membranes (HP-β-CD/FeO/LA@BC and HP-β-CD/FeO/LA/Ag@BC). Fourier transform attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis proved the dense networks were formed in the modified BC membranes. The HP-β-CD/FeO/LA@BC possessed significantly enhanced mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. The electrical conductivity of HP-β-CD/FeO/LA/Ag@BC was optimized at treatment temperature of 50 °C and treatment time of 2 h, and increased with the increase in concentration of silver ion, adsorption temperature, and adsorption time. Freezing treatment at the low temperature of -45 °C did not affect the electrical conductivity of modified membranes. Inhibition rate of 99.99 % against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli demonstrated the excellent antimicrobial properties of the HP-β-CD/FeO/LA/Ag@BC membrane. This work offers an ecofriendly way for fabricating bacterial cellulose-based soft smart electronic materials with good antimicrobial effect.