Preparation, characterization and antimicrobial studies of chitosan/silica hybrid polymer

Abstract

Organic/inorganic hybrid polymer systems based on chitosan/silica have gained much importance due to their application in enzyme immobilization, sensors and as novel biomaterials. The present study involves the preparation, characterization and antimicrobial studies of chitosan/silica hybrid polymers incorporated with disodium salt of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as non-reactive cross-linker, propylene glycol as plasticizer to enhance film forming properties and glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agent. The free standing films were studied by infrared spectroscopy, thermal studies, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The studies indicate that hybrids with 30% silica are the most compatible with chitosan and their physical and thermal properties are dependent on the amount of silica, EDTA, propylene glycol and gluteraldehyde. The films and hybrid polymer coated cotton fabrics were found to have good antimicrobial performance against Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli.