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Electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofibres with Biocidal Additives for Application in Filter Media, 2–Antimicrobial Activity, Regeneration, Leaching and Water Stability
Author(s) -
Gule jabulo Prudence,
de Kwaadsteniet Michele,
Cloete Thomas Eugene,
Klumperman Bert
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201100276
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , antimicrobial , biocide , materials science , leaching (pedology) , polymer , aqueous solution , chemical engineering , nuclear chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , environmental science , soil science , engineering , soil water
Antimicrobial poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibres are produced using AquaQure biocide as additive to the polymer solution. AquaQure is an aqueous antimicrobial agent containing mainly Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ . Antimicrobial tests show that the fibres achieve up to a 5 log reductions in populations of E. coli , S. aureus , S. typhimurium , P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae bacteria. Reusability of the nanofibre membranes is investigated to establish if the nanofibres retain their morphology and antimicrobial effectiveness over six cycles of water filtration. Leaching of AquaQure constituents from the nanofibres into filtered water is assessed and found to be at acceptable levels.