Antimicrobial filtration with electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers containing benzyl triethylammonium chloride: Immersion, leaching, toxicity, and filtration tests

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2017-01, Vol.167, p.469-477
• Main Authors: Park, Jeong-Ann, Kim, Song-Bae
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antimicrobial agent; Benzyl triethylammonium chloride; Daphnia magna; Electrospun nanofiber; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Filtration; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Nanofibers - chemistry; Poly(vinyl alcohol); Polyvinyl Alcohol - chemistry; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - pharmacology; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Toxicity; Water filtration; Water Purification - methods
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.030

Antimicrobial electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers were synthesized by impregnating benzyl triethylammonium chloride (BTEAC) as an antimicrobial agent into PVA nanofibers. The BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were heat-methanol treated during the preparation for various tests. The BTEAC-PVA nanofibers became more hydrophilic than the PVA nanofibers due to incorporation of BTEAC. Through heat-methanol treatment, thermal property, crystallinity, and water stability of BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were improved considerably. The immersion test shows that heat-methanol treatment has an advantage over heat treatment to maintain BTEAC content in BTEAC-PVA nanofibers. The acute toxicity test demonstrates that the 24-h EC50 and 48-h EC50 values (EC50 = median effective concentration) of BTEAC to Daphnia magna were 113 and 90 mg/L, respectively. The leaching test indicates that the BTEAC concentration leached from BTEAC-PVA nanofibers was far below the concentration affecting the immobilization of D. magna. For antimicrobial filtration tests, the BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were deposited onto glass fiber filter. The antimicrobial filtration test was conducted against bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) and bacteriophages (MS2, PhiX174), demonstrating that the BTEAC-PVA nanofibers could enhance the removal of E. coli and S. aureus considerably but not the removal of MS2 and PhiX174 under dynamic flow conditions. [Display omitted] •Antimicrobial BTEAC-PVA nanofibers were synthesized using electrospinning process.•Water stability of BTEAC-PVA nanofibers was improved by heat-methanol treatment.•Leached BTEAC was far below the toxicity level for D. magna immobilization.•Bacteria removal could be enhanced by incorporation of BTEAC into PVA nanofibers.