Abstract
The antibacterial features of natural pine/spruce rosin are well established, yet the functionality in various thermoplastics has not been surveyed. This work focuses on the processing of industrial grade purified rosin mixed with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polyamide (PA) and corn starch based biopolymer (CS). Homopolymer masterbatches were extrusion-compounded and melt-spun to form fibres for a wide range of products, such as filters, reinforcements, clothing and medical textiles. Due to the versatile chemical structure of rosin, it was observed compatible with all the selected polymers. In general, the rosin-blended systems were shear-thinning in a molten condition. The doped fibres spun of PE and PP indicated adequate melt-spinning capability and proper mechanical properties in terms of ultimate strength and Young's modulus. The antibacterial response was found dependent on the selected polymer. Especially PE with a 10 wt% rosin content showed significant antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli DH5α and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12598 when analysed in the Ringer's solution for 24 h.
Highlights
The increasing awareness of health hazards and the pressure to rely on natural raw materials pushes traditional plastic producers to develop functionality using the ‘chemistry of nature’
The thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) curve (Fig. 1(b)) shows that the final degradation occurs over a temperature range of ≈220–450 °C, which suggests that rosin in the melt-spinning process of PA fibres (220 °C) might have partly degraded
This work presents the results of rosin–polymer compounds’ viscosity, overall processing effects by temperature and rosin content, fibre performance, and the two-stage analysis of the antibacterial response against indicator bacteria E. coli DH5α and S. aureus ATCC 12598
Summary
The increasing awareness of health hazards and the pressure to rely on natural raw materials pushes traditional plastic producers to develop functionality using the ‘chemistry of nature’. The added functionality, such as antimicrobial response, opens up new business strategies for the current polymer industry. Antimicrobial response against several pathogens and, in detail, antibacterial activity in massively produced thermoplastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyamide (PA), are typically achieved using silver, oxides of silicon or titanium (SiO2, TiO2), antibiotics, or ammoniabased drugs on the product surface or within the polymer structure [1,2,3]. The potential health hazards of synthetic additives and requirements for environmental responsibility and ever lower bulk costs have made the industry and research institutions to search for new alternatives [6]
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