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Antibacterial Activity and Biodegradation of Cellulose Fiber Blends with Incorporated ZnO
oleh: Domen Malis, Barbka Jeršek, Brigita Tomšič, Danaja Štular, Barbara Golja, Gregor Kapun, Barbara Simončič
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2019-10-01 |
Deskripsi
This research aimed to study the influence of lyocell with incorporated ZnO (CLY) for antibacterial activity and biodegradation of fiber blends composed of viscose (CV), flax (LI), and CLY. Fiber blended samples with an increased weight fraction of CLY fibers were composed, and single CLY, CV and LI fibers were also used for comparison. Antibacterial activity was determined for the Gram-negative <i>Escherichia coli</i> and the Gram-positive <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteria. The biodegradation of fiber blends was investigated by the soil burial test. The results show that the single CLY fibers exhibited high antimicrobial activity against both <i>E. coli</i> and <i>S. aureus</i> bacteria and that the presence of LI fibers in the blended samples did not significantly affect antibacterial activity against <i>E. coli</i>, but drastically decreased the antibacterial activity against <i>S. aureus</i>. LI fibers strongly promoted the growth of <i>S. aureus</i> and, consequently, impaired the antimicrobial performance of ZnO against this bacterium. The presence of CLY fibers slowed down, but did not prevent, the biodegradation process of the fiber blends, even at the highest ZnO concentration. The soil that was in contact with the fiber blended samples during their burial was not contaminated to such an extent as to affect the growth of sprouts, confirming the sustainability of the fiber blends.