Effects of Triclosan Contents on Antimicrobial Efficacy of Environmentally-friendly Biodegradable Polylactic Acid Composite Films

Abstract

In this study, polylactic acid (PLA) and Triclosan with blending ratios 99:1, 97:3, and 95:5 wt% are dissolved in Dichloromethane via the solution method. The mixtures are then made into PLA/Triclosan composite films by using a casting method. The tensile strength test and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are used in order to evaluate the mechanical properties and thermal behaviors of composite films. Finally, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus auresus (S.aureus) are used to culture with the composite films in order to examine the optimal antimicrobial efficacy of different PLA/Triclosan composite films. The test results indicate that the composite films have a slightly lower tensile strength when the films are composed of 5wt% of Triclosan. Increasing Triclosan contents decreases the Tg of the composite films according to DSC results. Moreover, the antimicrobial efficacy of composite films increases with the increasing Triclosan content, and the antimicrobial efficacy against S.aureus is higher than E. coli.