Size and Aging Effects on Antimicrobial Efficiency of Silver Nanoparticles Coated on Polyamide Fabrics Activated by Atmospheric DBD Plasma

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces 2015-07, Vol.7 (25), p.13731-13744
• Main Authors: Zille, Andrea, Fernandes, Margarida M, Francesko, Antonio, Tzanov, Tzanko, Fernandes, Marta, Oliveira, Fernando R, Almeida, Luís, Amorim, Teresa, Carneiro, Noémia, Esteves, Maria F, Souto, António P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aging; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; antimicrobial effect; Bacteria - drug effects; dielectric barrier discharge plasma; Enginyeria química; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanociència; Nanoparticles; Nanopartícules; Nanoscience; Nylons - chemistry; Particle Size; Plasma Gases - chemistry; Plata; polyamide fabric; Silver - chemistry; Silver - pharmacology; silver nanoparticles; Textiles; Time Factors; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b04340

This work studies the surface characteristics, antimicrobial activity, and aging effect of plasma-pretreated polyamide 6,6 (PA66) fabrics coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), aiming to identify the optimum size of nanosilver exhibiting antibacterial properties suitable for the manufacture of hospital textiles. The release of bactericidal Ag+ ions from a 10, 20, 40, 60, and 100 nm AgNPs-coated PA66 surface was a function of the particles’ size, number, and aging. Plasma pretreatment promoted both ionic and covalent interactions between AgNPs and the formed oxygen species on the fibers, favoring the deposition of smaller-diameter AgNPs that consequently showed better immediate and durable antimicrobial effects against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Surprisingly, after 30 days of aging, a comparable bacterial growth inhibition was achieved for all of the fibers treated with AgNPs