Synthesis, characterisation and antibacterial activity of PVA/TEOS/Ag-Np hybrid thin films

Novel hybrid material thin films based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) with embedded silver nanoparticles (AgNps) were synthesized using sol–gel method. Two different strategies for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles in PVA/TEOS matrix were applied based on reduction of the silver ions by thermal annealing of the films or by preliminary preparation of silver nanoparticles using PVA as a reducing agent. The successful incorporation of silver nanoparticles ranging from 5 to 7 nm in PVA/TEOS matrix was confirmed by TEM and EDX analysis, UV–Vis spectroscopy and XRD analysis. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized hybrid materials against etalon strains of three different groups of bacteria – Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive bacteria), Escherichia coli (gram-negative bacteria), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (non-ferment gram-negative bacteria) has been studied as they are commonly found in hospital environment. The hybrid materials showed a strong bactericidal effect against E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa and therefore have potential applications in biotechnology and biomedical science.

Graphical abstractTEM of PVA/TEOS/AgNps antibacterial hybrid thin film containing 0.4% AgNO3 heat treated at 100 °C for 60 min. showing an average Ag nanoparticles of 6 ± 1.8 nm.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (175 K)Download as PowerPoint slide