Preparation and characterization of UV-curable acrylic membranes embedding natural antioxidants

Identifier:  imarina:6389811

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina6389811

Authors:  Rajczak, Ewa; Tylkowski, Bartosz; Constanti, Magda; Haponska, Monika; Trusheva, Boryana; Malucelli, Giulio; Giamberini, Marta

Abstract:
© 2020 by the authors. We examine the behaviour of acrylic resin-based membranes containing natural antioxidants, such as Galla Chinensis tea powder extract (TP) and Taiwanese green propolis (TGP), in different concentrations ranging between 5 and 20 wt %. Membrane morphology was investigated by means of Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM), while the UV-curing reaction was monitored by Fourier-Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. In most cases Thermogravimetric (TG), Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) and Dynamo-mechanical Thermal (DMT) analyses showed that the desirable characteristics of the UV-cured acrylic resin are not substantially altered by the presence of the organic fillers. The release kinetics of polyphenols and flavonoids, determined in water for TP-containing membranes (ETx) and in ethanol/water mixture (7:3 v/v) for TGP-containing ones (EPx), was satisfactory, reaching a plateau after 24 h. Finally, preliminary antibacterial tests against S. Epidermidis were performed on the membranes with higher additive amount and gave positive results for ET-type; on the contrary, no inhibitory effect was observed for the tested EP-type membranes.