Abstract
Abstract This study reports a synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNP) deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) filters and antibacterial evaluation of the obtained filters against Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. CuNP were synthesized by a two-step method involving adsorption of [Cu(OH)4]2- ions onto a PET filter and subsequent chemical reduction by ascorbic acid without using other capping agents. The synthesized CuNP were 105±26 nm (mean±SD) in size and agglomerated into clusters on the PET fibres. Increasing the immersion time of the filters in [Cu(OH)4]2- solutions yielded higher amounts of deposited CuNP. SEM images and mass measurements revealed significant changes in the PET fibre surface under the alkaline medium. Passing bacterial suspensions of E. coli and S. enterica through the CuNP-deposited PET filter reduced them by 5.55 and 2.30 log values, respectively. This method of depositing CuNP onto PET material may be further developed for a wide scope of applications, not only in antibacterial filters, but also in catalytic, packaging and biomedical fields.
Highlights
Copper has been used as a biocide in many cultures in medicine and personal care products for more than a thousand years (Milanino, 2006)
They used alkaline complex [Cu(OH)4]2- solution to treat cellulosic paper, but we suppose that this method would work well with polyester materials, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), because ester bonds hydrolysing in alkaline medium produce carboxylate groups, which may coordinate with copper ions and keep them stronger on the polymer fibres
The results showed that the CuNP/PET filters (0.096 mg CuNP/cm2) resulted in bacteria inactivation with a 5.55-log reduction for E. coli and 2.30log reduction for S. enterica
Summary
Copper has been used as a biocide in many cultures in medicine and personal care products for more than a thousand years (Milanino, 2006). The disadvantage of these materials is their low mechanical strength; so in this study, we chose polyester fibres made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (Figure 1) as a matrix to incorporate CuNP. Another advantage of polyester fibres is the ease of their modification, especially by alkaline treatment (Penn and Wang, 1994). Aqueous sodium hydroxide solution partially hydrolyses polyester fibres to form carboxylate anions, increasing the wettability of the fibres, as well as roughening and pitting their
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