Testing the antimicrobial properties of Bio-nano-composite PLA nanofibrils electrospun with copper nanoparticles.

Brice Johnston*, Timmy Nguyen, N. Mubarak Albarakati, Kavin Sivaneri, Rakesh Gupta, Edward Sabolski, Gloria Oporto, and Meenal Elliott
¹Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cell Biology, ²Department of Chemical Engineering, ³Department of Material sciences and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering & Mineral Resorces ⁴Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Presentation No.: 79

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Health Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Immunology and Medical Microbiology

We are testing the antimicrobial property of a biodegradable composite of polylactic acid (PLA) impregnated with copper nanoparticles fabricated using an electro-spinning process. We chose a gram-positive organism Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and a gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) as examples of common pathogens associated with hospital acquired infections. The biofabric was produced by electro-spinning PLA nanofibrils without (PLA) or with copper nanoparticles (PLA-CuNano) under 4 different electro-spinning conditions. The results showed the 1.5sy fabric the most capable of inhibition when inoculated with S.A. Of the 4 different electrospinning processes, one resulted in a biocomposite of PLA-CuNano capable of complete elimination of both test organisms. The other 3 processes failed to produce a composite that could inhibit either organism to an acceptable level (2 Log reduction). Additional methods of fabrication of the biocomposite material are currently in progress. These include a forced spin process as well as a biocomposite consisting of cellulosic fibres impregnated with Copper nanoparticles.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: the WVU IMMB Undergraduate Research Internship Program (Jennifer Franko)