Issue 57, 2019

Antibacterial effect of boron nitride flakes with controlled orientation in polymer composites

Abstract

Boron nitride (BN) is a stable 2D material with physiochemical properties similar to graphene-based nanomaterials. We have recently demonstrated that vertically aligned coatings of graphene-based nanomaterials provide strong antibacterial effects on various surfaces. Here we investigated whether BN, a nanomaterial with extensive similarities to graphene, might exhibit similar antibacterial properties. To test this, we developed a novel composite material using BN and low density polyethylene (LDPE) polymer. The composite was extruded under controlled melt flow conditions leading to highly structured morphology, with BN oriented in the extrusion flow direction. Nanocomposite extruded surfaces perpendicular to the flow direction were etched, thus exposing BN nanoparticles embedded in the matrix. The antimicrobial activity of extruded samples was evaluated against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus by the colony forming units (CFUs) counting method. Furthermore, the bactericidal effect of oriented BN against E. coli and S. aureus was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and live/dead viability assay. Our results suggest that BN nanoflakes on the extruded BN/LDPE composite physically interact with the bacterial cellular envelope, leading to irreparable physical damage. Therefore, we propose that BN–polymer composites might be useful to develop polymer based biomedical devices protected against bacterial adhesion, and thus minimize device associated infections.

Graphical abstract: Antibacterial effect of boron nitride flakes with controlled orientation in polymer composites

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 aug 2019
Accepted
12 okt 2019
First published
17 okt 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2019,9, 33454-33459

Antibacterial effect of boron nitride flakes with controlled orientation in polymer composites

S. Pandit, K. Gaska, V. R. S. S. Mokkapati, S. Forsberg, M. Svensson, R. Kádár and I. Mijakovic, RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 33454 DOI: 10.1039/C9RA06773F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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