Preparation of Poly(acrylic acid)/silver nanocomposite by simultaneous polymerization–reduction approach for antimicrobial application

Poly(acrylic acid)/Silver, PAA/Ag, nanocomposite, was in-situ synthesized by radical polymerisation of acrylic acid (AA) monomers, using AIBN as initiator and ethanol as solvent in presence of silver nitrate AgNO₃ nanoparticles. It was found that polymerisation of (AA) monomers and reduction of silver ions occurred simultaneously, thereby leading to the formation of the PAA/Ag nanocomposite. The obtained material was characterized by infrared (IR), UV-visible, photo-luminescence measurements, X-Ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Strong interactions between silver ions and carboxylic groups of PAA, were identified by FT-IR spectroscopy. Highly luminescent single colloidal silver nanoparticles under blue excitation were detected by photoluminescence spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), image revealed that silver nanoparticles were well dispersed in PAA matrix. X-ray powder diffraction XRD pattern, showed the appearance of small picks corresponding to the face centred cubic (f.c.c.) silver phase. Furthermore the antimicrobial activity of Ag nanoparticles was investigated against, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans micro-organisms. It was found that the carboxylic groups from the acrylic acid favour silver ions mobility in the organic matrix. Thus they are expected to be liable to the enhancement of the antimicrobial surface activity in this hybrid material. The results suggest that PAA/Ag nanocomposite can be used as effective growth inhibitors in various micro-organisms, making them appropriate to diverse medical devices and antimicrobial control systems.