Antimicrobial modification of polypropylene with silver nanoparticles immobilized on zinc stearate

Abstract

The microwave synthesis of Ag nanoparticles on zinc stearate (ZnSt/Ag) was performed to obtain an antimicrobial additive for a polypropylene matrix. Thermoplastically prepared polymer composites contained (1, 3, 5 and 10) % of mass fractions of ZnSt/Ag. The effect of the presence of additives on the morphology and mechanical properties of composites was studied by scanning electron microscopy and stress-strain analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the composites was studied according to the ISO 22196 standard. The results showed that sufficient antimicrobial activity of the composites against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains was observed in the case of the composites with the highest filling studied. Keywords: antibacterial, polypropylene composite, zinc stearate, Ag nanoparticles Izvedena je bila sinteza nanodelcev Ag na cinkovem stearatu (ZnSt/Ag) z mikrovalovi, da bi dobili protimikrobni dodatek polipropilenski osnovi. Termoplasti~no pripravljeni kompozit polimera je vseboval (1, 3, 5 in 10) % masnega dele`a ZnSt/Ag. Vpliv prisotnosti dodatkov na morfologijo in mehanske lastnosti kompozitov je bil prou~evan z vrsti~no elektronsko mikroskopijo in analizo napetost-raztezek. Protimikrobna aktivnost kompozita je bila prou~evana skladno s standardom ISO 22196. Rezultati so pokazali, da je primerna protimikrobna aktivnost pri sevih, gram pozitivnih in gram negativnih bakterij, dose`ena v primeru kompozita z najve~jim prou~evanim dodatkom.

Effect of polyethylene glycol plasticizer on long‐term antibacterial activity and the release profile of bacteriocin nisin from polylactide blends

“…Indeed, other “added value” functionality is needed in order to increase their competitiveness on the market. An example of such added value in packaging materials is enhancement with antibacterial activity, a desirable property to the packaging, textile, automotive, and medical sectors, among others …”

The Synergistic Microbiological Effects of Industrial Produced Packaging Polyethylene Films Incorporated with Zinc Nanoparticles

“…The literature lacks information on the potential mechanism of action of zinc stearate in the creation of microbial protection in various types of polyolefin-based films. The use of zinc stearate in antimicrobial blends is mainly known for using it as a matrix for other antimicrobial substances such as silver nanoparticles [49,50]. The low activity of materials with the ZS masterbatch will seem obvious, because it results from the lower content of zinc in its salt with stearate and the concentration of zinc stearate in masterbatch.…”