López Calero, Johnny Enrique

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    Biodegradable chitosan matrix composite reinforced with titanium dioxide for biocidal applications
    (2019-12-09) López Calero, Johnny Enrique; Suárez, O. Marcelo; College of Engineering; Cafaro, Matias; Perales Pérez, Oscar J.; Materials Science and Engineering; Santana Morant, Dámaris
    Access to drinkable water is increasingly difficult to find in developing nations. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 billion people lack access to this basic resource. What is worse, water being the ideal vector for the transmission of pathogens especially bacteria are making this issue a life hazard problem. This thesis reports the study of a novel chitosan film matrix impregnated with anatase nanoparticles, which are capable of showing antibacterial properties when exposed to UV light by liberating reactive oxygen species (ROS). The films were attained by mixing chitosan powder with titanium dioxide (TiO2) along with acetic acid and deionize water at different concentrations and drying the mixture in an oven for 48 hr at 55°C. A number of techniques allowed characterizing the biocomposite uniformity, corroborating the polymorph anatase crystal structure, and assessing the bonding type and nature of this biocomposite mixture. Antibacterial tests with Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) were completed via growth curve analyses and the Kirby-Bauer technique. The results of this encompassing study revealed that bacterial growth was reduced by more than 50% in both groups. In addition, x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirmed the anatase polymorph phase of the nanoparticle. The films were uniformly mixed and the concentration of TiO2 was similar along the surface of the films as observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to describe the functional group, bonding type, and nature of this biocomposite film. TiO2 and chitosan are capable of reducing bacterial growth and show promising results as antibacterial agents.