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Title: One-step synthesis of silver nanoparticle-filled Nylon 6 nanofibers and their antibacterial properties

Author
item SHI, QUAN - North Carolina State University
item VITCHULI, NARENDIRAN - North Carolina State University
item NOWAK, JOSHUA - North Carolina State University
item Caldwell, Jane
item Breidt, Frederick
item BOURHAM, MOHAMED - North Carolina State University
item MCCORD, MARIAN - North Carolina State University
item ZHANG, XIANGWU - North Carolina State University

Submitted to: Journal of Materials Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/9/2011
Publication Date: 7/1/2011
Citation: Shi, Q., Vitchuli, N., Nowak, J., Caldwell, J.M., Breidt, F., Bourham, M., Mccord, M., Zhang, X. 2011. One-step synthesis of silver nanoparticle-filled Nylon 6 nanofibers and their antibacterial properties. Journal of Materials Chemistry. 21(28):10330-10335.

Interpretive Summary: The research was carried out to determine how antimicrobial fibers can be manufactured with silver nanoparticles. Research was done to determine if the antimicrobial silver particles linked to fibers can effectively kill bacteria. Fibers were tested with two classes of bacteria, Gram-positive and Gram-negative. These are common bacteria in the environment. Bacterial cultures were added to fibers that were in water based suspensions. We found that the bacteria were rapidly killed on exposure to the fiber sample. The results indicate that antimicrobial compounds are effective when attached to the fibers. Results may lead to useful antimicrobial cloth material for a variety of uses.

Technical Abstract: A novel and facile one-step approach to in situ synthesize silver nanoparticle-filled nylon 6 nanofibers by electrospinning is reported. The method does not need post-treatments and can be carried out at ambient conditions without using additional chemicals. It employs the electrospinning solvent as a reducing agent for in situ conversion of AgNO3 into silver nanoparticles during the solution preparation. The resultant silver nanoparticle-filled nylon 6 hybrid nanofibers show an excellent fibrous structure (fiber diameter at 50–150 nm), with narrow size 2–4 nm silver nanoparticles uniformly dispersed throughout the nylon 6 matrix. DSC analysis shows that the in situ incorporation of silver nanoparticles increased the Tg and crystallinity of the resultant nanofibers. These silver nanoparticlefilled nylon 6 nanofibers exhibit a steady and long-lasting silver ion release behavior, and robust antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive B. cereus and Gram-negative E. coli microorganisms.