Preparation and characterization of porous membranes of glucomannan and silver decorated cellulose nanocrystals for application as biomaterial.

Bacterial infection usually represents a threat in medical wound care, due to the increase in treatment complexity and the risk of antibiotic resistance. For presenting interesting characteristics for the use as biomaterial, natural polymers have been explored for this application. Among them, a promising candidate is the konjac glucomannan (KGM) with outstanding biocompatibility and biodegradability but lack of antibacterial activity. In this study, KGM was combined with silver decorated cellulose nanocrystals (CNC-Ag) to prepare membranes by using a recent reported casting-freezing method. The results highlight the potential anti-adhesive activity of the new materials against Staphylococcus aureus upon contact, without the burst release of silver nanoparticles. Furthermore, the incorporation of CNC enhanced the thermal stability of these membranes while preserving the favorable mechanical properties of the KGM-based material. These findings highlight a straightforward approach to enhance the antibacterial properties of natural polymers, which can be effectively useful in medical devices like wound dressings that typically lack such properties.

Improved antibacterial activity of nanofiltration polysulfone membranes modified with silver nanoparticles.

Polysulfone membranes (PSf) containing silver nanoparticles were prepared by the wet phase-inversion process. Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were dispersed into the polymer matrix using two different methodologies. In the first one, the AgNP were synthesized and further dispersed into the polymer solution (ex situ process). In the second method, the formation of the AgNP was performed in situ. The AgNP crystalline structure in the PSf membranes was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images showed that the addition of AgNP in PSf membranes caused no significant changes to the finger-like morphology. When the ex situ methodology was applied, 45 nm average size AgNP were uniformly distributed in the internal pores of the membranes. However, when the AgNP were formed through the in situ process, the AgNP were uniformly and preferentially distributed on the top and bottom surfaces of the membrane. In the last case, the AgNP showed cubic morphology when present in the bottom and top surfaces, however, when inside the membrane their morphology was spherical. The cubic-like nanoparticles displayed a 38 nm average edge length. The silver ion released from the membrane during water filtration was measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which showed a silver leaching of approximately 2 µg L(-1). The nanocomposite membranes prepared by the in situ method exhibited a better antibacterial activity, in comparison to those prepared by ex situ, and also a decrease in 90% Escherichia coli adhered cells compared to the pristine PSf membranes. In conclusion, the in situ procedure can be considered a feasible, simple, and reproducible methodology to prepare anti-biofouling polysulfone membranes containing AgNP.

Fabrication of transparent and ultraviolet shielding composite films based on graphene oxide and cellulose acetate.

Graphene oxide (GO) has been considered a promising filler material for building polymeric nanocomposites because of its excellent dispersibility and high surface area. In this work, we present the fabrication and characterization of transparent and ultraviolet (UV) shielding composite films based on GO and cellulose acetate (CA). GO sheets were found to be well-dispersed throughout the CA matrix, providing smooth and homogeneous composite films. Moreover, the GO sheets were completely embedded within the CA matrix and no presence of this nanomaterial was found at the surface. Nevertheless, CAGO composite films offered an improved high energy light-shielding capacity when compared to pristine CA films. Particularly for UVC irradiation, the CAGO film containing 0.50wt% GO displayed a UV-shielding capacity of 57%, combined with 79% optical transparency under visible light. These CAGO composite films can be potentially applied as transparent UV-protective coatings for packing biomedical, pharmaceutical, and food products.

Structural and morphological investigations of ß-cyclodextrin-coated silver nanoparticles.

This paper describes the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using an aqueous silver nitrate solution in the presence of glucose as a reducing agent, sodium hydroxide as a reaction catalyst and ß-CD as a stabilizer. The structure and the morphology associated to the stabilizing layer around the silver nanoparticles were investigated. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the nanoparticle surface modification by ß-CD, demonstrating the interaction between the ß-CD rim hydroxyl groups and the AgNP surface. Transmission electron microscopy images showed an average 28.0nm diameter pseudo-spherical nanoparticles. Apart from this, a novel characterization of the ß-CD layer surrounding the nanoparticles was carried out by using complementary analytical electron microscopy based on electron spectroscopy imaging in the transmission microscope. Mapping images revealed the presence of carbon and oxygen, demonstrating the existence of a uniform and interacting ß-CD layer covering the nanoparticles. The antibacterial activity was also investigated and the ß-CD-coated silver nanoparticles showed a promising bactericidal activity against the microorganism Escherichia coli.

Conductive carbon-clay nanocomposites from petroleum oily sludge.

Oily sludge samples formed in water-oil separation tanks from a petroleum industry were collected, characterized and heat-treated at different temperatures, in order to yield carbon-clay composites. EDX microanalysis, XRD and FTIR data revealed that before carbonization the oily sludge was formed mainly by a mixture of quartz, montmorillonite, calcite, barite and oil residues. After carbonization, mineral phases present were mainly quartz, anorthite and gehlenite, in addition to graphitic and disordered carbon domains, according to XRD, Raman and TEM measurements. A preliminary evaluation of the electrical conductivity performed by Impedance Spectroscopy revealed that the composites formed are conductive, exhibiting conductivity values typical of semiconductors, in contrast to the precursor material.