There is a need for new antibacterial methods. The emergence of resistant bacteria is making traditional antibiotic and biocide usage obsolete, thus requiring new approaches. A second problem is the environmental issues, as the toxic compounds eventually end up in the waste water.  Making materials with permanently attached antibacterial compounds is a promising alternative that does not cause any pollution and have a universal effect on bacteria. The practical application of such surfaces has however so far been hindered by the chemical production processes, requiring organic solvents and harsh reaction conditions.<br/>As an environmentally friendly and simple way of constructing an antibacterial material, cellulosic wood fibres were functionalized using the polyelectrolyte multilayer technique (PEM) with the antibacterial polymer polyvinylamine (PVAm). This process is based on physical adsorption of charged polymers and is, due to the solubility of the used polymers, performed in water at room temperature. By step-wise repeating the adsorption step, the content of the antibacterial component is increased, resulting in an amplified antibacterial effect compared to adsorption in single layers. This method gives further the possibility to at nano-scale precision control the adsorption by e.g., adjusting process parameters or by increasing the initial surface charge of the substrate.<br/><br/>The presentation include an overview of the project and highlighting recent results considering choice of fibers and polymers

Biointeractive fibers with antibacterial properties

251st National Meeting (2016)

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