Characterization of Antibacterial Polymeric Films Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Zinc Nitrate for Biomedical Applications

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was modified by zinc nitrate in the concentration range from 0 to 22.29 wt.% using the solvent cast technique. The resulting material was characterized by optical microscopy, stress-strain analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. In addition, the antibacterial properties of the prepared films were tested against the both gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains. The results show the uniform distribution of the modifier within the PVA matrix, enhanced mechanical properties (up to 8.24 wt.%), and good antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria at low modifier content.