Antimicrobial performance of thermoplastic elastomers containing zinc pyrithione and silver nanoparticles

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of styrene-ethylene/ butylene-styrene based thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) incorporated with zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) and silver nanoparticles (AgNano). Japan Industrial Standard was applied to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of incorporated TPE compounds against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Antifungal action was evaluated against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Cladosporium cladosporioides. Samples prepared with ZnPT eliminated 99.9% of the E. coli and 99.7 % of the S. aureus population, and presented an inhibition zone in the fungal assay. Samples prepared with AgNano eliminated 99.7% of the E. coli and 95.5 % of the S. aureus population. There was no inhibition zone in samples containing AgNano; however, these samples did not present fungal growth on their surfaces. TPE samples containing ZnPT showed biocidal activity against the microorganisms tested and can be used to develop antimicrobial products.