Preparation and antibacterial properties of nano biocomposite Poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-SiO2 films with nanosilver

Abstract

Two different silica samples with different particle size distributions (Silica-I: 40-63m, Silica-II: 90% below <55m) were utilized after the nano silver (5-30nm) coating process by poly(dimethylsiloxane) in acetone. The prepared nano Ag-silica powders were melt-mixed into poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and the mixture was roll-milled to produce the nano biocomposite films containing 10%, 20% and 40% nano Ag-silica. The antibacterial activity of the composite films against E. coli was evaluated. For the PCL films with 40% Ag-silica (0.08-0.12% nanosilver), 100% reduction of the bacterial contamination was observed. The nanosilver coated silica particles could find applications in antibacterial nano biocomposites.