Abstract
In this study, a low concentration (10 μg·mL−1) of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-coated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were deposited by spray and exhaustion (30, 70 and 100 °C) methods onto untreated and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma-treated polyamide 6,6 (PA66) fabric. DBD plasma-treated samples showed higher AgNP deposition than untreated ones for all methods. After five washing cycles, only DBD plasma-treated samples displayed AgNPs on the fabric surface. The best-performing method was exhaustion at 30 °C, which exhibited less agglomeration and the best antibacterial efficacy against S. aureus (4 log reduction). For E. coli, the antimicrobial effect showed good results in all the exhaustion samples (5 log reduction). Considering the spray method, only the DBD plasma-treated samples showed some bacteriostatic activity for both strains, but the AgNP concentration was not enough to have a bactericidal effect. Our results suggest DBD plasma may be a low cost and chemical-free method for the preparation of antibacterial textiles, allowing for the immobilization of a very low—but effective—concentration of AgNPs.
Highlights
Progressive growth in antimicrobial resistance is leading to the rise of recalcitrant infections, complications of illness and mortality
The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment was performed at atmospheric pressure and room temperature in a semi-industrial prototype machine (Softal GmbH/University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal), using metal electrodes coated with ceramic and counter electrodes coated with silicon
The results showed that the plasma-treated sample obtained from the exhaustion at
Summary
Progressive growth in antimicrobial resistance is leading to the rise of recalcitrant infections, complications of illness and mortality. There is great demand for the development of new antimicrobial agents and materials [1]. Recent developments in nanotechnology have created new advantages for silver-based antimicrobial textiles. The unique chemical and physical properties and high surface–volume ratio of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have. Coatings 2019, 9, 581 made this new tool an extremely efficient antimicrobial agent [4,5,6]. The size, concentration and distribution of AgNPs onto textile substrates is fundamental to the balance and control of antimicrobial efficacy and cytotoxicity [7]. AgNPs can be cytotoxic to human cells if small-sized nanoparticles (less than 15 nm) and high concentrations are prescribed to patients [8].
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