Cellulose
nanocrystals (CNCs) have emerged as a sustainable nanomaterial
for several environmental applications, including the development
of novel antimicrobial agents. Although previous studies have reported
antibacterial activity for CNCs, their toxicity mechanism to bacterial
cells is still unknown. Here, we investigate the toxicity of CNCs
dispersed in water and coated surfaces against Escherichia
coli cells. CNC-coated surfaces were able to inactivate
approximately 90% of the attached E. coli cells, confirming potential of CNCs to be applied as a sustainable
and cost-effective antibiofouling nanomaterial. The toxicity of CNCs
in a suspension was concentration-dependent, and an inhibitory concentration
(IC50%) of 200 μg/mL was found. Glutathione and 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein
diacetate (H2DCFA) assays were conducted to evaluate the
role of oxidative stress in the CNC toxicity mechanism. Our findings
showed that oxidative stress has no significant effect on the antimicrobial
activity of CNC. In contrast, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images
and a leakage assay performed with dye-encapsulated phospholipid vesicles
indicated that CNCs inactivate bacteria by physically damaging their
cell membrane. CNC interaction with dye-encapsulated vesicles resulted
in a dye leakage corresponding to 43% of the maximum value, thus confirming
that contact-mediated membrane stress is the mechanism governing the
toxicity of CNCs to bacteria cells.
In this study, we were able to impart antimicrobial properties onto the surface of a commercial thin-film composite (TFC) membrane using sustainably derived cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) extracted from elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) leaves. Carboxylic acid-containing CNC were chemically bound to the amine-terminated polyamide active layer of TFC membranes using a cross-linking reaction. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were conducted to confirm the presence of CNC on the membrane surface. TFC membranes functionalized with needle-like and antimicrobial CNC nanoparticles showed robust toxicity to bacteria, inactivating ∼89% of attached Escherichia coli cells under contact. These findings establish that functionalization with CNC is a promising approach for mitigating biofouling on TFC membranes and substantiates the application of sustainable materials for the design of the next-generation membranes for water purification.
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