Poly(lactic acid)/graphene oxide-ZnO nanocomposite films with good mechanical, dynamic mechanical, anti-UV and antibacterial properties

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has been used for a wide range of applications such as food packaging, household engineering, drug delivery and tissue engineering because of increasingly serious environmental pollution and declining petroleum resources. The incorporation of nanofillers into PLA matrix offers the opportunity to develop nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical, dynamic mechanical, anti-UV and antibacterial properties.RESULTS: Graphene oxide loaded with ZnO nanoparticles (GO-ZnO) was prepared and mixed with PLA by a solution-blending method. Tensile tests show that the prepared PLA/GO-ZnO nanocomposite films have increased tensile strength compared with the unreinforced PLA film. The results from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) exhibit a significant enhancement in storage modulus and glass transition temperature (T g ) of the nanocomposite film. In addition, UV-visible spectra and antibacterial testing results show that the prepared nanocomposite films exhibit strong ultraviolet resistance and antimicrobial ability at very low GO-ZnO loading. CONCLUSION:The results demonstrate that these novel nanocomposite films with multiple properties (mechanical, dynamic mechanical, anti-UV and antibacterial) could be a good candidate material for antimicrobial packaging or anti-UV areas.

Poly(lactic acid) composites based on graphene oxide particles with antibacterial behavior enhanced by electrical stimulus and biocompatibility

“…For instance, 5 wt % of GO nanofillers sacrificed 100% of both bacteria. This behavior agrees with studies by An et al 15 and Huang et al 16 The increased hydrophilicity of the composites (Fig. 2) creates an inhibition surface for bacteria proliferation, which is potentiated by the amphiphilic behavior of the surface.…”

“…For composites with low amount of TrGO, the increment in cell viability could be due to the increased surface roughness, as reported by Pinto et al However, this positive effect was vanished at high TrGO content due to the negative effect associated with the increment of the surface hydrophobicity (Fig. ) hindering cell adhesion . PLA/GO nanocomposites otherwise have more hydrophilic surfaces (Fig.…”

“…9,10 Regarding the antimicrobial behavior of polymer/GD materials, few polymers had been tested, including poly-Nvinylcarbazole (PVK), 11 polyester, 12 chitosan, 13 poly(vinyl alcohol), 14 and PLA. In these cases, GO was mainly used obtaining 100% of antibacterial efficiency at concentrations between 0.2 15 and 5 16 wt %. The mechanisms of antibacterial behavior include oxidative stress by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mechanical disruption of bacterial membranes.…”

Synergistic effect of graphene oxide‐silver nanofillers on engineering performances of polyelectrolyte complex nanofiber membranes

“…Thus, GO‐Ag hybrid nanofillers induced better improvement on the mechanical performance of CG nanofibers than simple mixture of GO and AgNPs fillers. In fact, similar synergistical effect of hybrid fillers on mechanical properties of polymer was also witnessed on GO‐ZnO/poly(lactic acid) and GO‐Ag/PVA composites . Thus, GO‐Ag is excellent candidate for improving the mechanical properties of PEC nanofibers for more demanding biomedical applications.…”

Graphene Oxide for Biomedical Applications

“…This nanocomposite showed better antibacterial activity than the AgNPs or GO@AgNP materials [36]. GO-zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofillers filled poly lactic acid (PLA) matrix nanocomposite showed multiple improved properties like mechanical strength and antibacterial activity [37].…”