No abstract

The efficiency of various silver-based antimicrobial fillers (elementary silver and silver substituted materials) in polyamide (PA) toward their silver ion (Ag+) release characteristics in an aqueous medium was investigated and discussed. Anode stripping voltammetry (ASV) was used for the quantitative estimation of Ag+ release from these composites. The biocidal (Ag+) release from the composites was found to be dependent on the time of soaking in water and the nature of the filler. The long-term Ag+ release capability of the elementary silver-based PA/Ag composite is promising compared with the commercial counterparts. The silver ion release potential of polyamide composites where the silver filling was performed by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) is also discussed. The composites release Ag+ at a concentration level capable of rendering antimicrobial efficacy and proved to be active against the microbes. A good agreement exists between the Ag+ release experiments and antimicrobial test results. The observed results on the influence of the nature of the filler and crystallinity on the biocidal release and the varying long-term release properties could be helpful in the design of industrially relevant biomaterials.

Polyamide/silver (PA/Ag) composite materials are regarded as potential antimicrobials by virtue of their efficacy to release the Ag + ions in an aqueous medium. The effects of the matrix crystallinity on the Ag + ion release characteristics of PA/Ag composites are discussed. It is found that matrix crystallinity is very decisive for the silver ion releasing properties and hence the antimicrobial efficacy of silver-based antimicrobial polyamides. The crystallinities of the composites were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry. The silver ion release characteristics of these composites were measured by anode stripping voltammetry. Silver ion release was higher in systems possessing lower degrees of crystallinity. Waterdiffusion characteristics of the composites control the silver ion release. The effect of crystallinity on silver ion release rate depends on the time of soaking of the specimens in water.

No abstract