@conference{
author = "Ivanovska, Aleksandra and Barać, Nemanja and Radojević, Vesna and Uskoković, Petar and Janaćković, Đorđe and Barcelo, Ernest and Gane, Patrick and Kostić, Mirjana",
year = "2022",
abstract = "Cellulose and cellulose-CaCO3 dopes were prepared by ultrasound dispersion of CaCO3 (0, 0.26,
or 0.65 w/w%) and dissolution of cellulose (13 w/w%) in ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-
methylimidazolium acetate at 90 °C. Thereafter, the films were obtained by rode casting over a
pre-heated glass plate, together with methanol used as a regeneration agent. Subsequently, the
films were washed in hot water (80 °C) to remove the residual ionic liquid solvent - a process that
can be extended to recover ionic liquid for re-use. To impart antimicrobial properties to the
cellulose-CaCO3 composite films, selected samples of the wet films were treated with 10 mM
CuSO4 solution for different times (30, 60, and 120 min). Furthermore, half of these CuSO4 treated
films were subsequently treated with ascorbic acid to synthesise in situ Cu-based nanoparticles on
the film surface. After drying whilst held under tension at room temperature, the films were
characterised in respect to their mechanical properties as well as antimicrobial activity. The results
revealed that, in the case of films treated for 30 min with CuSO4 solution, the incorporation of
0.26 w/w% CaCO3 correlated with an increase in the film hardness, while in the case where the
treatment with CuSO4 solution was performed for longer (60 min) this hardness trend was
reversed. The elastic modulus decreased with increasing content of CaCO3. Only the films treated
with CuSO4, and those with Cu-based nanoparticles, possessed excellent antimicrobial activity
against the bacteria E. coli, S. aureus, and the fungus C. albicans. However, the results in the case
of C. albicans, showed an additional dependence, in that films treated with CuSO4 solution for 60
min demonstrated increasing antimicrobial activity against the fungus specifically with increasing
CaCO3 content.",
publisher = "Belgrade : Materials Research Society of Serbia",
journal = "Programme and The Book of Abstracts / Twenty-third Annual Conference YUCOMAT 2022 & Twelfth World Round Table Conference on Sintering XII WRTCS 2022, Herceg Novi, Montenegro, August 29 - September 2, 2022",
title = "Obtaining and characterising Cu-infused antimicrobial films formed from regenerated cellulose-CaCO3 composite",
pages = "90",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_technorep_6821"
}