title: Cellulose fibers modified with nano-sized antimicrobial polymer latex for pathogen deactivation.
abstract: Antimicrobial cellulose fibers and paper products are of great importance for various applications. In this work, novel core-shell antimicrobial latexes based on hydrophobic acrylate monomers and antimicrobial macromonomer (GPHGH) were successfully prepared via a seeded semi-continuous emulsion copolymerization in the presence of a cationic surfactant. The surface properties as well as size of latex were tailored by varying the amount of GPHGH incorporated during the copolymerization. The resulting cationic nano-sized latexes showed the strong adsorption and formed monolayer on the surfaces of bleached sulfite fibers, thus rendering the cellulose fibers antimicrobial. An excellent antimicrobial activity (>99.99% inhibition) of modified fiber toward Escherichia coli was achieved at 0.3wt% of latex dosage (on dry fibers). Results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation confirmed that the particles obtained indeed possessed a desired core-shell structure. The latexes themselves exhibited high antimicrobial activities against E. coli with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) as low as 6.25ppm (similar to that of pure guanidine-based polymer). Moreover, the mechanical strength of the hand-sheets made from latex-modified cellulose fibers was also improved due to the filming of the latex on fiber surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Resource Processing and Process Intensification Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
authors.forename: Yuanfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada. Electronic address: hxiao@unb.ca.
authors.forename: Huining
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Resource Processing and Process Intensification Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
authors.forename: Pingxiong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
authors.forename: Meaghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colpitts
mesh_terms: D000179:Acrylates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000179:Acrylates; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Adsorption; Cellulose fiber; Nano-sized antimicrobial latex; Tensile index