The effect of preparation temperature on the mechanical and antibacterial properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/silver nitrate films

There has been a growing interest in developing antibacterial polymeric materials. The logical consequence following development of a new material is optimisation of its processing conditions and investigation of the influence of processing parameters on functionality of a given material. The present work deals with investigation of the effect of preparation temperature on the mechanical and antibacterial properties of polymer films based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and silver nitrate (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 wt.% silver content). The mechanical properties of the films prepared at various temperatures (25, 35, 50, 60, 75 °C) were characterized by using stress-strain analysis. Antibacterial properties were determined by using an agar diffusion test and a dilution and spread plate technique against both Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae). The results show significant effect of the elevated temperature on the samples properties.