Dispersion of functional inorganic nano-fillers like TiO2 within polymer matrix is known to impart excellent photobactericidal activity to the composite. Epoxy resin systems with Ag + ion doped TiO2 can have combination of excellent biocidal characteristics of silver and the photocatalytic properties of TiO2. The inorganic antimicrobial incorporation into an epoxy polymeric matrix was achieved by sonicating laboratory-made nano-scale anatase TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 into the industrial grade epoxy resin. The resulting epoxy composite had ratios of 0.5-2.0 wt% of nano-filler content. The process of dispersion of Ag-TiO2 in the epoxy resin resulted in concomitant in situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles due to photoreduction of Ag + ion. The composite materials were characterized by DSC and SEM. The glass transition temperature (Tg) increased with the incorporation of the nanofillers over the neat polymer. The materials synthesized were coated on glass petri dish. Anti-biofilm property of coated material due to combined release of biocide, and photocatalytic activity under static conditions in petri dish was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538 and Escherichia coli K-12 under UV irradiation using a crystal violet binding assay. Prepared composite showed significant inhibition of biofilm development in both the organisms. Our studies indicate that the effective dispersion and optimal release of biocidal agents was responsible for anti-biofilm activity of the surface. The reported thermoset coating materials can be used as bactericidal surfaces either in industrial or healthcare settings to reduce the microbial loads. OPEN ACCESSCoatings 2015, 5 96

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Studies were carried out on the toughening of a bifunctional epoxy (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A) matrix system with an ABS/PC thermoplastic blend. The thermoplastic blend was incorporated into the epoxy matrix by particle dispersion and melt-mix methods. The unmodified and modified epoxy resin systems were cured with a stoichiometric quantity of diamino diphenyl methane (DDM). The cured castings were characterized by measurement of glass transition temperature (Tg) by DsC, evaluation of plane strain fracture toughness (Klc) by three-point bending tests and SEM analysis of non-etched and base/acid etched fracture surfaces. In genera] ABS/PC-modified (15% w/w) epoxy-resin-cured systems showed enhanced fracture toughness without lowering the glass transition temperature. The melt-mix method yielded higher fracture toughness than the particle dispersion method; this conclusion was also supported by scanning electron micrographs.