PVC grafted zinc oxide nanoparticles as an inhospitable surface to microbes.

Donnadio, Anna; Roscini, Luca; Di Michele, Alessandro; Corazzini, Valentina; Cardinali, Gianluigi; Ambrogi, Valeria

Antimicrobial Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was obtained by covalent bonding of zinc oxide nanoparticles, which have gained important achievements in antimicrobial fields because of their auspicious properties. This was achieved by grafting mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane onto PVC, followed by the growth of zinc oxide nanoparticles covalently bonded on the polymer surface. In this study, the relationship between the physicochemical features of modified-surface PVC and antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans was investigated. Zinc oxide with controllable morphologies (rods, rod flowers, and petal flowers) was synthesized on the polymer surface by tuning merely base-type and concentration using a hydrothermal process. The antimicrobial activity was more pronounced for rod flower morphology, because of their differences in microscopic parameters such as specific Zn-polar planes. This work provides an important hint for the safe use of PVC for biomedical devices by the structure surface tuning without injuring polymer bulk properties and a reduced risk of the covalently bonded nanoparticle dispersion in the host and the environment.