Free-standing membranes assembled from polyelectrolyte multilayers are promising new materials since they offer the possibility of engineering their chemical and mechanical properties. Herein, the buildup of biocompatible free-standing multilayer membranes consisting in biopolymers/silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and hyaluronic acid (HA) is accomplished using layer by layer (LbL) technique. To obtain the biopolymer/Ag NPs, solvent-free synthesis by chemical reduction of Ag NPs is carried out in presence of chitosan (CS) or 6-deoxy-6-(2-aminoethyl) aminocellulose (AC) leading to simultaneous NPs biofunctionalization. The use of the amino-functional biopolymers as doping agents prevents the NPs aggregation and thus, results in stable dispersions of Ag NPs. Further, based on electrostatic interactions, LbL self-assembly is carried out to prepare free-standing nanocomposite membranes (consisted of 100 and 200 bilayers) of hybrid CS(AC)/Ag NPs and HA. The alternating monolayers of positively charged amino-functionalized Ag NPs and negatively charged HA are sequentially assembled on a silicone substrate. The capability of the resulting multilayer membranes to prevent the biofilm formation and to inhibit the bacterial growth of Gram-negative <i>Escherichia coli</i> and Gram-positive <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteria is demonstrated. Moreover, the good biocompatibility of the obtained nanocomposite membranes with human fibroblast cell line suggested their suitability for biomedical applications such as wound healing material.

Free-standing antibacterial membranes based on biopolymers-silver nano-assemblies

251st National Meeting (2016)

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