Antibacterial polyethylene - Ethylene vinyl acetate polymeric blend by incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles. (September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Galli, Rafaela; Hall, Monique Canal; Breitenbach, Everton Rafael; Colpani, Gustavo Lopes; Zanetti, Micheli; de Mello, Josiane Maria Muneron; Silva, Luciano Luiz; Fiori, Márcio Antônio
• Is Part Of: Polymer testing. Volume 89(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Subjects: LDPE-EVA blend -- Antibacterial LDPE-EVA -- Antibacterial ZnO-NPs -- Antibacterial polymer -- Antimicrobial nanoparticles; Polymers -- Testing -- Periodicals; Polymères -- Tests -- Périodiques; 620.1920287
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.106554
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0142-9418

Abstract

Abstract: In this work, a Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) - Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) polymeric blend with antimicrobial activity was obtained. The main objective was to develop an antibacterial LDPE-EVA polymeric blend from the incorporation of antibacterial nanoparticles to increase the antimicrobial and sanitary safety of this polymeric blend when applied in the manufacture of medical products. The antibacterial activity was obtained from the incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in the LDPE-EVA polymeric blends and the thermal properties were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and the mechanical properties by tensile stress tests for different percentages of ZnO-NPs. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the morphological characteristics of the ZnO-NPs and also the characteristics of the distribution of nanoparticles in the polymer blends. The dispersive energy of x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used to study the chemical composition of the nanoparticles. Microbiological tests were performed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the LDPE-EVA polymeric blends without and with ZnO-NPs against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (gram-negative). The results obtained were excellent for the future application of the antibacterial LDPE-EVA polymeric blends to the manufacture of medical products. The Young's modulus values decreased and the tensile strength values showed small reductions and the thermal properties of the LDPE-EVA were not modified. However, the antibacterial activity of LDPE-EVA with 4 wt% of ZnO-NPs was excellent, eliminating the gram-positive bacteria in just 2 h and the gram-negative bacteria in just 2.5 h on their surfaces. Highlights: LDPE/EVA with antibacterial activity were obtained by the incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Nanoparticles of zinc oxide were incorporated into LDPE/EVA and the thermal properties did not show significant changes. The incorporation of the zinc oxide nanoparticles improved the flexibility of the LDE/EVA blends. The incorporation of the zinc oxide nanoparticles not modified significantly the tensile strength of the antibacterial LDPE/EVA blends. The antibacterial LDPE/EVA blends with zinc oxide nanoparticle were able to eliminate the bacteria with just 2 h.