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Global Health Econ Sustain

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Antimicrobial silver-loaded starch-based

bioplastic grafted with poly(4-vinylpyridine) as a
novel eco-friendly material

1,3
1†
Belén Gómez-Lázaro , Felipe López-Saucedo 1,2† *, Guadalupe G. Flores-Rojas ,
4
Alejandro Camacho-Cruz , Leticia Buendía-González , Eduardo Mendizabal ,
3
2
1
and Emilio Bucio *
1 Department of Radiation Chemistry and Radiochemistry, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National
Autonomous University of Mexico, C.P., 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
2 Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of the State of Mexico,
C.P., 50200, State of Mexico, Mexico
3 Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University Center of Exact Sciences and
Engineering, University of Guadalajara, C.P., 44430, Jalisco, Mexico
4 Department of Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, C.P.,
04510, Mexico City, Mexico
Academic editor:
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D.MAE
† These authors contributed equally Abstract
to this work.
*Corresponding authors: The incorporation of polymer materials into disposable medical devices proves to be
Felipe López-Saucedo valuable due to their chemical and physical properties that make them practically
(felipelopezsaucedo@gmail.com) unique. Approximately 25% of hospital waste consists of plastics, prompting various
Emilio Bucio
(ebucio@nucleares.unam.mx) efforts to mitigate their environmental impact, such as reusing or reprocessing. In this
study, we attained a hybrid material (organic-inorganic) with antibacterial properties
Citation: Gómez-Lázaro, B.,
López-Saucedo, F., Flores-Rojas, through surface modification of a starch-based polymer matrix and subsequent silver
G.G., Camacho-Cruz, A., Buendía- immobilization. The raw material, which is a commercially available biodegradable
González, L., Mendizabal. E., et al. product, was grafted at room temperature with the monomer 4-vinylpyridine
(2023). Antimicrobial silver-loaded
starch-based bioplastic grafted with through a “grafting-from” method initiated with high-energy gamma rays from a
poly(4-vinylpyridine) as a novel Co-60 source, using absorbed doses of 10 – 50 kGy and monomer concentrations of
eco-friendly material. Global Health 10 – 100 vol%. Grafted films were loaded with silver at room temperature using natural
Econ Sustain, 1(2): 1251. radiation. Our results demonstrate that the modified materials exhibit antimicrobial
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1251
activity against the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Received: July 5, 2023 as confirmed through the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay.
Accepted: August 23, 2023
Published Online: September 22, Keywords: Antimicrobial materials; Bioplastics; Gamma-rays; Grafting;
2023 Poly(4-vinylpyridine); Silver-immobilization; Starch
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Environmental pollution resulting from non-biodegradable plastic waste, including
properly cited. polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS),
Publisher’s Note: AccScience among other polymers, is a widespread issue. These materials are integral to various
Publishing remains neutral with industrial sectors such as food packaging, building, automotive, textile, and technology.
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Even medical-grade plastic materials contribute to this issue, with estimates suggesting
affiliations. that at least 25% of hospital waste is comprised of plastic (Jain & LaBeaud, 2022).

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1251