Preparation and antibacterial effects of PVA‐PVP hydrogels containing silver nanoparticles

Abstract

The poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVA-PVP) hydrogels containing silver nanoparticles were prepared by repeated freezing-thawing treatment. The silver content in the solid composition was in the range of 0.1-1.0 wt %, the silver particle size was from 20 to 100 nm, and the weight ratio of PVA to PVP was 70 : 30. The influence of silver nanoparticles on the properties of PVA-PVP matrix was investigated by differential scanning calorimeter, infrared spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy, using PVA-PVP films containing silver particles as a model. The morphology of freeze-dried PVA-PVP hydrogel matrix and dispersion of the silver nanoparticles in the matrix was examined by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that a three-dimensional structure was formed during the process of freezing-thawing treatment and no serious aggregation of the silver nanoparticles occurred. Water absorption properties, release of silver ions from the hydrogels and the antibacterial effects of the hydrogels against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were examined too. It was proved that the nanosilver-containing hydrogels had an excellent antibacterial ability.

Nanocomposites in Food Packaging – A Review

“…Silver is well known for its strong toxicity to a wide range of microorganisms (Liau et al, 1997), besides some processing advantages such as high temperature stability and low volatility (Kumar & Münstedt, 2005). Silver nanoparticles have been shown to be effective antimicrobials (Aymonier et al, 2002;Sondi & Salopek-Sondi, 2004;Son et al, 2006;Yu et al, 2007;Tankhiwale & Bajpai, 2009), even more effective than larger silver particles, thanks to their larger surface area available for interaction with microbial cells Kvítek et al, 2008). In fact, the most common nanocomposites used as antimicrobial films for food packaging are based on silver nanoparticles, whose antimicrobial activity has been ascribed to different mechanisms, namely: (a) adhesion to the cell surface, degradation of lipopolysaccharides and formation of ''pits'' in the membranes, largely increasing permeability (Sondi & Salopek-Sondi, 2004); (b) penetration inside bacterial cell, damaging DNA (Li et al, 2008); and (c) releasing antimicrobial Ag + ions by dissolution of silver nanoparticles (Morones et al, 2005).…”

Swelling, Mechanical and Antimicrobial Studies of Ag/P(HEMA/IA)/PVP Semi-IPN Hydrogel Hybrids

“…Antimicrobial activity is a very valuable property for biomedical applications [22][23][24][25]. Introduction of antimicrobial agents in hydrogels is important to prevent infection and to protect the hydrogel implants and devices from infection during their use.…”

Silver‐embedded granular activated carbon as an antibacterial medium for water purification

“…In contrast, very few studies have used Ag in a solid matrix, that too being restricted to either a polymeric foam 5 or a polymeric hydrogel. 6 This note describes the preparation, microstructure and antibacterial efficacy of the Ag-GAC composite, starting from pre-synthesized GAC powder. .…”