Abstract
In this study, different methods for incorporating mixed or laminar copper microparticles (CuMPs) during papermaking were evaluated to determine the optimum paper-making process and correlate particle concentration and shape with antimicrobial activity. The addition of CuMPs during the disintegration of dry pulp stage was observed to produce a paper with uniformly distributed CuMPs, as determined through optical microscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy analyses by measuring absorbance spectra in different areas of papers. Determination of two indices related to the concentration and distribution of copper will allow to predict the copper content in other papers. CuMP-paper samples were evaluated for structural, optical, and mechanical strength properties according to paper industry standards. Quantitative analyses by atomic absorption showed that between 24 and 39% of CuMPs were embedded in the paper fibre, independent of particle type. Finally, antibacterial activity analyses were performed according to ISO 20645 and ISO 20743. The results showed that papers with 0.30 g of incorporated CuMPs have antimicrobial activity, independent of particle morphology, with effects observed towards Gram (+) and Gram (−) bacteria and fungus. Furthermore, the evaluation of antimicrobial activity at different times of exposure to the microorganisms showed differences in effects that were dependent on the shape of the CuMPs incorporated into paper, where laminar particles exerted a sufficient effect, while no or a slight effect was observed for mixed CuMPs against Aspergillus niger.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Eckart Eitner, Raúl González, Cristian Segura, and Felipe Torres of the CMPC; Nancy Pérez and Rodrigo del Canto of the ICono UDD technological development office; and Benjamín Erranz and INTA for antimicrobial analysis services. Additional thanks to the funding granted by a UDD internal research competition and to an UDD institutional contribution. R. Lavín acknowledges financial support in Chile from the Basic Financing for Scientific and Technological Centres of Excellence under Grant AFB180001.
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Funding was provided by Universidad del Desarrollo (Grant No. 23400091).
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Fig. S1
Bright-field optical micrograph of paper made with 0.30 g of T1 CuMPs; Fig. S2 UV-Vis absorption spectra of different paper areas containing T1 CuMPs incorporated following methods (a) 1 and (b) 2. Fig. S3 UV-Vis absorption spectra of papers made with 0.05, 0.10, and 0.30 g of T1, T2, T3, and T4 CuMPs, together with bright-field micrographs (transmission). (b) Plot of the amplitude and area indices versus CuMP concentration and dark-field micrographs (reflection) in the inset; Fig. S4 Optical micrographs at 50× magnification of white paper sheets. Fig. S5 Image of bacterial growth of (a) S. aureus and (b) K. pneumoniae strains in culture dishes with the control white paper and paper with different concentrations of incorporated T1, T2, T3, and T4 copper particles. Fig. S6 Micrographs of the colony sizes of the S. aureus and K. pneumoniae strains stained with Coomassie blue R-250 in the area in contact with paper containing 0.05, 0.10, and 0.30 g of T4 CuMPs, corresponding to samples 11, 12, and 13, respectively. S7. Analysis of the variation of the content of copper particles in the paper, after immersion in a aqueous medium for 24 h. Table S7. Absorbance and amplitude index values, percentage variation of the copper content of paper samples with CuMP before and after being submerged for 24 hours in a aqueous medium. Fig S7. Light and dark field optical micrographs of sample No. 4 of paper with CuMP a) and b) without hydrating, c) and d) after the hydration and drying process. (DOCX 10199 kb)
Appendix
Appendix
Antibacterial activity, according to ISO 20645, was calculated using the formula:
where H corresponds to the inhibition zone; D: total sample diameter and inhibition zone; and d: sample diameter, all expressed in mm.
Antibacterial effect is defined according to the criteria in Table
8 (ISO 20645).
Antibacterial activity, according to ISO 20743, was calculated with the formula:
where A corresponds to the value of the antibacterial activity; F: count of viable bacteria in the control sample (\(F={I}_{g}{C}_{t}-{I}_{g}{C}_{O}\)); G: count of viable bacteria in the experimental samples (\(G={I}_{g}{T}_{t}-{I}_{g}{C}_{T}\)); IgTt: average common logarithm for the number of bacteria obtained from a triplicate of three experimental samples after 18–24 h of incubation; and IgTo: average common logarithm for the number of bacteria obtained from a triplicate of three experimental samples immediately after inoculation.
The value obtained from the formula above was compared with that obtained for controls using interpretation ranges (Table
9) as proposed by the Hohenstein Research Institute (2008).
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Contreras, P., Amenabar, A., Apablaza, V. et al. Correlation between the concentration and morphology of copper microparticles and their biocidal effect on paper sheets. Cellulose 27, 4721–4743 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03085-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03085-x