Effective Antimicrobial Filter From Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile-silver Composite Nanofibers Membrane For Conductive Environments

Abstract

Electrospun nanofibers based antimicrobial filter were examined for their capability to build conductive environment. An antimicrobial agent, silver nitrate (AgNO3), was added to the nanofibers membrane for its ability to prevent growth of microorganisms over the filter media. In this direction in the present investigation the different fractions of silver nanoparticles were in-situ synthesized in PAN solution and then polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-silver composite nanofibers membrane filter was prepared by electrospinning technique. The resultant solution and PAN-silver composite nanofibers was characterized by UV- visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope and X-ray diffraction. Antibacterial property of PAN silver composite nanofibers were investigated against gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram negative Escherichia coli microorganisms. The formation of clear zone suggests that composite nanofibers containing silver nanoparticles show strong antibacterial activity and it increases with increasing silver content in the composite nanofibers. The PAN-silver composite nanofibers sheet was also examined for filtration of microorganisms and dust particles. It was observed that PAN-silver composite nanofibers filter proven to be an excellent filter for creating microorganism and dust free hygienic environment. Thus electrospun PAN nanofibers filters containing an antibacterial agent can be a promising solution for effective microorganism filtration from indoor air in hospitals or other places which are more prone to bacterial infections. Copyright © 2014 VBRI press.