Silk fibroin/polyvinyl alcohol composite film loaded with antibacterial AgNP/polydopamine-modified montmorillonite; characterization and antibacterial properties

In this study, a kind of nanocomposite film was fabricated via combining silk fibroin, polyvinyl alcohol (SF/PVA) and AgNP/polydopamine-modified Montmorillonite (AgNP/PDA-Mt). The structural characteristics and properties of the SF/PVA/AgNP/PDA-Mt nanocomposites films were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), EDS-mapping analyses and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicated enhanced thermal performance of SF/PVA/AgNP/PDA-Mt nanocomposites with increased AgNP/PDA-Mt weight. The nanocomposite film exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus . The 2 % SF/PVA/AgNP/PDA-Mt film showed the highest zone of inhibition with an average inhibition circle diameter of 26.1 mm against E. coli and 20.61 mm against S. aureus . Cytotoxicity test results indicated that the nanocomposites films were biocompatible with L929 cells with a 100 % survival rate, which can be considered as one of the advantages of new nanocomposites films. These findings suggest that SF/PVA/AgNP/PDA-Mt films have potential clinical applications in wound dressing and antibacterial biomedical applications.