Structural and Bactericidal Properties of Cu-TiO2 Biocides Incorporated in Polypropylene

Abstract

Abstract Polymer-based appliances are vulnerable to bacterial infections and poses a significant concern in biomedical field. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria have been identified as potential sources of infectious diseases, necessitating a comprehensive exploration of innovative materials and strategies to mitigate this issue. Accordingly, this work targeted to determine the effect of 1% and 7% Cu-TiO2 on the antibacterial activity of PP composite against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). In this work, oval-shaped Cu-TiO2 were fabricated by a hydrothermal method and then incorporated into the PP by internal mixing. Subsequently XRD, TEM, FESEM, and EDS were used to characterize the Cu-TiO2-PP composite. The structural properties of PP composite were greatly altered with dispersion of Cu-TiO2. Antibacterial tests demonstrated that the bactericidal efficiency of Cu-TiO2-PP composite on microorganisms greatly improved with metal-ionic systems compared with pure PP. This work throws some new insight in addressing catheter-related blood-stream infection.