3D Laser Microscopy for Nanotechnology and Metrology

Abstract

Nanosized silver particles open way to new breed of antibacterial (antimicrobial) materials. Silver particles could be now incorporated into polypropylene to produce an antibacterial material that could be used in anything from carpets, to napkins and surgical masks. Silver has been medically proven to kill over 650 disease-causing organisms in the body and is also very safe. By combining silver and polypropylene to produce an organic-inorganic fibre, researchers have produced the first safe, antibacterial fibre with a wide range of possible applications. Polypropylene fibre is one of the most widely used synthetic fibres in the textile industry because it is cheaper and stronger than other synthetic fibres. Researchers have demonstrated, in a paper to be published in the July issue of Polymer International, available online in June, that they can produce two types of fibres both with silver particles distributed evenly along the length of the fibre. According to investigations, used nanosized silver particles maximize the surface area and give the optimum antibacterial effect. Fibres containing silver in the core part had no antimicrobial activity. However, the fibres that included silver in the sheath part showed excellent antibacterial effect. That is why very important challenge is to detect silver nanoparticles deposition on textile material. One of the main question related to the textile material with deposited silver nanoparticles is which method could be used for quick, nondestructive and comprehensive control of silver nanoparticles deposition. Briefly, structure investigations of “nano-silver” textile material made with help of Olympus LEXT OLS4000 are presented below.