Synthesis and antibacterial activity of cellulose acetate sheets modified with flower-shaped AlOOH/Ag

Abstract

Modified cellulose acetate antibacterial material was obtained by immobilizing Al/Ag nanoparticles on fabric fibres in water and subsequent hydrolysis of this nanoparticles under mild reaction condition. AlOOH/Ag self-assembled flower-shaped nanostructures consist of AlOOH nanoplates and Ag inclusions. The AlOOH nanosheets size is of 150–300 nm, thickness is 5–7 nm. The silver inclusions were from 5 to 30 nm in size. Flower-shaped AlOOH/Ag nanostructures change the charge of fibres and stabilize Ag nanoparticles against agglomeration. The positive charge of the modified fibres improves the bacteria adsorption due to electrostatic interaction. The antibacterial activity of the nanoparticles and modified material arise due to the slow Ag+ migration into the medium from stabilized Ag nanoparticles. The nanoparticles and modified cellulose acetate sheets were characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, FTIR spectroscopy. The release of silver ions to the medium remains low for 70 h with AlOOH/Ag@CA reducing all the tested bacterial strains below the limit of detection (102 CFU/mL) within 3 h for Escherichia coli and 6 h for MRSA due to local effects of silver on adsorbed bacteria. The antibacterial activity of modified cellulose acetate fabric allows this method of modification to be exploited to produce materials for biomedical applications.