Polymer Blend Containing MoO3 Nanowires with Antibacterial Activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228

Urška Gradišar Centa,Maja Remškar,Srečo D Škapin,Petra Kocbek,Anna Belcarz

doi:10.1155/2020/9754024

Abstract

Antibacterial activity of a polymer nanocomposite containing water-soluble poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), water insoluble poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), and MoO3 nanowires or MoO3 microparticles as antibacterial active substances is reported. The UV-vis absorption method was used for the illumination of dissolving of the MoO3 particles of different size and morphology in water. Dissolving of MoO3 nanowires (1 mg ml-1) decreases pH bellow 3.6 in only 3 min and below 3 in 15 min, while dissolving of the PEO/PVDF-HFP/MoO3 nanowires coating (5 mg ml-1) decreases pH bellow 3.6 in 90 min. These coatings completely destroy the Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228 bacterial strain within 3 h. The proposed applications are antibacterial protective coatings of contact surfaces.

Highlights

Infected contact surfaces represent a threat for the health of patients, staff, and visitors in hospitals and for people in crowded areas, such as buses, shopping centers, and schools
The main result is that the antibacterial activity of both films A and D containing MoO3@285 nanoparticles is high
We have formulated polymer nanocomposites intended for application as antimicrobial contact surfaces

Summary

Introduction

Infected contact surfaces represent a threat for the health of patients, staff, and visitors in hospitals and for people in crowded areas, such as buses, shopping centers, and schools. Antibacterial agents are of exceptional importance for preventing the spread of infectious diseases [1]. Their abuse has led to the emergence of antibiotic resistance (e.g., methicillin-resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species, and Gram-negative microorganisms [2]). Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria differ in the composition of their cell walls. While the cell wall of Gramnegative bacteria contains a peptidoglycan monolayer and lipopolysaccharide layer called the outer membrane, the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria is composed of several layers of peptidoglycan. If nanomaterials directly interact with bacterial species, a membrane stress mechanism occurs [3] in which cell death can result from an elevated level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) following the oxidative stress mechanism

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