Abstract: “Wheat gluten (WG) biofilms result in a more affordable and biodegradable alternative for medical first aid bandages. WG biofilms were prepared by denaturing the WG protein with acid and heat, mixing with glycerol, and then drying to remove excess liquid. WG film properties such as density and porosity were measured. Different concentrations of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized and incorporated into the WG films to test their antimicrobial properties using several different pathogens. It was concluded that as the concentration of silver decreases, the diameter of the zone of inhibition also decreases, conveying that higher amounts of silver exhibit stronger antimicrobial properties. Incorporation of silver nanoparticles into WG biofilms had weaker antimicrobial properties than the silver disks alone. Some pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae were more susceptible to the antimicrobial properties of WG with 0% AgNPs than WG with 100% AgNPs.”
East Central IL ACS Undergraduate Research Conference
Thank you for joining us for the 5th Annual ECI-ACS conference!
Great presentation, Cody! I have a few questions. (1) Do you know how long your biofilm antimicrobial properties will last, even though the film itself begins to shrink? (2) Have you performed any study to test the size of your silver nanoparticles? (3) Do you envision a bandage which has the silver nanoparticles-film dispersed in the adhesive material? Thank you!
When you talk about concentration of the Ag, is that affecting both size and number of particles? If it is both, have you tried controlling just one or the other of these variables, i.e. just adding more particles to the bandage, or monitoring to make sure the size is greater or smaller that is being added to the bandage?