Antibacterial Synergism of Electrospun Nanofiber Mats Functioned with Silver Nanoparticles and Pulsed Electromagnetic Waves

Abstract

The over-reliance on antibiotics and their enormous misuse has led to warnings of a future without effective medicines and so, the need for alternatives to antibiotics has become a must. Non-traditional antibacterial treatment was performed by using an aray of nanocomposites synergised with exposure to electromagnetic waves. In this manuscript, electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofiber mats embedded with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized. The nanocomposites were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Current-Voltage (I-V) curves, and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) along with analysis of antibacterial impact against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria, studied by bacterial growing analysis, growth kinetics, and cellular cytotoxicity. The results indicated a spherical grain shape of silver of average size 20 nm and nanofibers’ mean diameter of less than 100 nm. The nanocomposite mats showed good exposure to bacteria and the ability to sustain release of silver for a relatively long time. Moreover, the applied electromagnetic waves (EMWs) were shown to be a synergistic co-factor in killing bacteria even at low concentrations of Ag NPs. This caused pronounced alterations of the bacterial preserved packing of the cell membrane. Thereby, the treatment with nanocomposite mats under EM wave exposure elucidated maximum inhibition for both bacterial strains. It was concluded that the functioning of nanofiber with silver nanoparticles and exposure to electromagnetic waves improved the antibacterial impact compared to each one alone.

Enhancement of Nano-Biopolymer Antibacterial Activity by Pulsed Electric Fields

“…A nontraditional antibacterial treatment was performed by using an array of nanofiber mats together with exposure to electromagnetic waves. The applied electromagnetic waves (EMWs) were shown to be a synergistic co-factor in killing bacteria even at low nanofiber mat concentrations [ 21 ]. In a different way, exposure to a magnetic field of 1.8 mT for 20 min was adopted to develop the kinetics of dentin/enamel re-mineralization in combination with nano-chitosan gels.…”

Dielectric Behavior of Nano Lead - Nano Copper oxides Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Composites

“…The real part of permittivity (ε′) was found to be dependent on filler concentration, confirming the DC dielectric strength findings [4]. This research aims to improve the dielectric properties of polyvinyl chloride by manufacturing sheets of polyvinyl chloride injected with metal oxides such as lead oxide and copper oxide at different concentrations and then making comparisons to reach the best concentrations as well as injecting polyvinyl chloride with lead oxide and copper oxide [5] in the nanoscale to compare with the best previous concentrations to prove the effectiveness of nanotechnology in improving the dielectric properties [6], [7].…”

“…Figure (6) displays the loss factor against frequency for micro PbO and CuO, PbO and CuO NPs, pure PVC, pure PVC /micro PbO composites, and PVC / PbO, PVC / CuO nanocomposites at room temperature. It can be seen from Figure (6) that, the loss factor curve of pure PVC, micro PbO, CuO, and PbO, CuO NPs possess the same behavior which involves decreases for the loss factor with an increase in the frequency. As the frequency increased, the dipole polarization effects reduced, and the values of the loss factor declined accordingly.…”

“…Frequency dependence of the relative permittivity (έ) of (a) micro PbO/PVC, (b) micro CuO/PVC composites, and (c) 40 wt.% nano CuO/PVC, 40 wt.% nano PbO/PVC, and (20 wt.% nano CuO +20 wt.% nano PbO)/PVC composites.The loss factor is a measure of the loss of energy in a dielectric material through conduction, and it is preferred to be smaller for insulation materials. Figure(6) displays the loss factor against frequency for micro PbO and CuO, PbO and CuO NPs, pure PVC, pure PVC /micro PbO composites, and PVC / PbO, PVC / CuO nanocomposites at room temperature. It can be seen from Figure(6) that, the loss factor curve of pure PVC, micro PbO, CuO, and PbO, CuO NPs possess the same behavior which involves decreases for the loss factor with an increase in the frequency.…”

Anticancer and antibacterial potentials induced post short-term exposure to electromagnetic field and silver nanoparticles and related pathological and genetic alterations: in vitro study

“…This continually growing problem of antibiotic resistance not only endangers the public health, but also endures a massive negative impact on the economic development due to delayed hospitalization and recovery time in addition to the need for expensive medications as well as specialized care for patients [ 1 ]. Many researchers have directed their efforts to manage the problem of antibiotic resistance via estimating the effectiveness of new antibacterial agents either alone or in combinations [ 2 ]. In the same context, breast cancer is considered the second common leading cause of cancer death among women [ 3 ].…”