Synthesis and Antibacterial Testing of Silver/Poly (Ether Amide) Composite Nanofibers with Ultralow Silver Content

Antimicrobial materials have attracted much attention all over the world. Herein, a new kind of antimicrobial material, poly (ether amide) (PebaxⓇ) nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles, was prepared by electrospinning method. The Ag/PebaxⓇ composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) measurements. The antimicrobial properties of Ag/PebaxⓇ composites against Escherichia coli (E. coli; ATCC25922 and avirulent) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus; ATCC6538 and avirulent) were evaluated by membrane adhering method. It was found that the Ag content played an important part in the antimicrobial ability of Ag/PebaxⓇ composites. When the mass ratio of AgNO3 to PebaxⓇ in the precursor was 0.15‰, the inhibition rate can reach >99.9% and antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus was 5.8 and 5.6, respectively, exceeding the antimicrobial testing standards JIS Z 2801. The above results indicated that the Ag/PebaxⓇ composite was a promising antimicrobial material that can be used in many applications.