Green Synthesis and Incorporation of Sericin Silver Nanoclusters into Electrospun Ultrafine Cellulose Acetate Fibers for Anti-Bacterial Applications

Fiber based antibacterial materials have gained an enormous attraction for the researchers in these days. In this study, a novel Sericin Encapsulated Silver Nanoclusters (sericin-AgNCs) were synthesized through single pot and green synthesis route. Subsequently these sericin-AgNCs were incorporated...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mujahid Mehdi, Huihui Qiu, Bing Dai, Raja Fahad Qureshi, Sadam Hussain, Muhammad Yousif, Peng Gao, Zeeshan Khatri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/9/1411
Description
Summary:Fiber based antibacterial materials have gained an enormous attraction for the researchers in these days. In this study, a novel Sericin Encapsulated Silver Nanoclusters (sericin-AgNCs) were synthesized through single pot and green synthesis route. Subsequently these sericin-AgNCs were incorporated into ultrafine electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) fibers for assessing the antibacterial performance. The physicochemical properties of sericin-AgNCs/CA composite fibers were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and wide X-ray diffraction (XRD). The antibacterial properties of sericin-AgNCs/CA composite fibers against <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>) and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>) were systematically evaluated. The results showed that sericin-AgNCs incorporated in ultrafine CA fibers have played a vital role for antibacterial activity. An amount of 0.17 mg/mL sericin-AgNCs to CA fibers showed more than 90% results and elevated upto >99.9% with 1.7 mg/mL of sericin-AgNCs against <i>E. coli</i>. The study indicated that sericin-AgNCs/CA composite confirms an enhanced antibacterial efficiency, which could be used as a promising antibacterial product.
ISSN:2073-4360