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Updated: Jul 14, 2025
Bacterial Cellulose Spheres that Encapsulate Solid Materials
Published on: February 26, 2021
Antibacterial polylactic acid fabricated via Pickering emulsion approach with polyethyleneimine and polydopamine
Zhen Zhang1, Mengqiu Zhong2, Haosheng Xiang2
1SCNU-TUE Joint Lab of Device Integrated Responsive Materials (DIRM), National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; ScienceK Ltd, Huzhou 313000, China.
Abstract:
Antibacterial biodegradable plastics are highly demanded for food package and disposable medical plastic consumables. Incorporating antibacterial nanoagents into polymer matrices is an effective method to endow polymers with antibacterial activity. However, synthesis of sustainable antibacterial nanoagents with high antibacterial activity via facile approach and well dispersion of them in polymer matrices are still challenging. In this study, polyethyleneimine (PEI) was grafted on surface of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) via the oxidation self-polymerization of dopamine (DA) and the Michael addition/Schiff base reaction between DA and PEI. The resulted PEI and polydopamine modified CNCs (PPCs) showed substantially enhanced antibacterial activity and reduced cytotoxicity for NIH3T3 than PEI due to increased local concentration and anchoring of PEI. The minimum concentration of PPCs to achieve antibacterial rate of 99.99 % against S. aureus and E. coli were about 50 and 20 μg/mL, respectively. PPCs displayed outstanding emulsifying ability, and PPC coated polylactic acid (PLA) microspheres were obtained by drying PPC stabilized PLA Pickering emulsion, leading to a well dispersion of PPCs in PLA. PPC/PLA film prepared by hot-pressing displayed great antibacterial performance and enhanced mechanical properties. Therefore, this study proposed a facile approach to fabricate biocompatible antibacterial nanoagents and plastics.
