Antimicrobial Active Bioplastics Using Triangular Silver Nanoplate Integrated Polycaprolactone and Polylactic Acid...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Plastic surfaces often lack inherent antimicrobial properties, leading to contamination risks.
• Developing effective antimicrobial materials is crucial for public health and various industrial applications.
• Biodegradable polymers like PCL and PLA offer sustainable alternatives but require enhanced functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and scale up triangular silver nanoplates (TSNPs).
• To integrate TSNPs into polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactic acid (PLA) polymers.
• To evaluate the antimicrobial, thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of the resulting composite films.

Main Methods:

• Aqueous-based seed-mediated chemical synthesis for TSNPs.
• Characterization using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV-Visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy.
• Solvent-casting technique for preparing TSNP/PCL and TSNP/PLA composite films.
• Evaluation of film properties including surface morphology, thermal stability, tensile strength, and antimicrobial activity.

Main Results:

• TSNPs exhibited characteristic LSPR peaks at 600 nm.
• TSNP incorporation resulted in rougher film surfaces and maintained thermal stability.
• Tensile strength and antimicrobial activity against *Escherichia coli* and *Staphylococcus aureus* were significantly enhanced.
• Antimicrobial effect (AE) values ranged from 0.10 to 0.35.

Conclusions:

• Scalable production of TSNPs is feasible.
• TSNP-treated PCL and PLA films demonstrate potent antimicrobial properties.
• The developed composite materials show promise for broad surface applications requiring antimicrobial functionalities.