Poor mechanical properties and bacterial infection are the main problems faced by dental restorative resins in clinical use. In this study, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) grafted with imidazole groups and mesoporous silica (MSN) are co-filled in a dental resin to impart excellent antimicrobial activity and mechanical properties to the dental resin. The higher specific surface area of GQDs and MSN results in an increased contact area with the resin matrix, which enhances the strength of the dental composite resin. The introduction of GQDs significantly improves the antimicrobial activity of the resin. The inhibition efficiency of the composite resin against Streptococcus mutans reached 99.9% with the addition of GQDs at only 0.2 wt.%. When MSN and GQDs are co-filled, MSN interferes with the release of GQDs, thus reducing the antimicrobial activity of the dental resin but improving the cyto-compatibility. By reasonably adjusting the amount of GQDs and MSN, the dental composite resin can exhibit excellent antimicrobial properties, mechanical properties and cyto-compatibility at the same time.

The physical and antibacterial properties of ophthalmic lenses fabricated by copolymerization with hydrogel monomers using two types of graphene were measured, and their usability as contact lens materials was analyzed. For polymerization, silicone monomers, including SID-OH, 3-(methacryloxy)propyl tris(trimethylsiloxy)silane, and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, were used, and N,N-dimethylacetamide, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a crosslinking agent, and azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator were added. Also, graphene oxide nanoparticle (GON) and graphene nanoplate (GNP) were used as an additive, and the physical properties of the lenses fabricated after copolymerization were evaluated. The fabricated lenses satisfied the basic physical properties of general hydrogel contact lenses and showed the characteristics of lenses with high water content, and the disadvantage of very weak durability, due to low tensile strength. However, it was confirmed that the tensile strength and antibacterial properties were greatly improved by adding GON and GNP. With GON, the oxygen permeability and refractive index of the fabricated lenses were slightly improved. Therefore, it was determined that the graphene materials used in this study can be used in various ways as a contact lens material.

물 여과, 단백질 정제 또는 생체 의학 여과 장치에 사용되는 분리막은 여러 가지 이유로 막 파울링을 거치게 된다. 박테리아에 의한 막 표면의 바이오필름 형성은 분리막의 내구성에 심각한 문제를 초래한다. 단백질 정제의 경우, 소수성 인 막의 표면으로 인해 막의 기공이 막히게 된다. 분리막의 파울링을 조절하는 방법에는 여러 가지가 있는데, 그 중 하나가 은나노 입자의 도입이다. 은나노 입자의 항균 특성은 잘 알려져 있고 따라서 여러 응용에 사용되고 있다. 본 총설에서는 은나 노 입자 또는 그 유도체가 박막 활성층에 도입되거나 또는 복합막 전체에 균일하게 분포된 분리막에 초점을 두었다.

This study reports an environment-friendly synthetic strategy to process nickel oxide nanocrystals. A mesoporous nickel oxide nanostructure was synthesized using an environmentally benign biomimetic method. We used a natural rambutan peel waste resource as a raw material to ligate nickel ions to form nickel-ellagate complexes. The direct decomposition of the obtained complexes at 700 oC, 900 oC and 1100 oC in a static air atmosphere resulted in mesoporous nickel oxide nanostructures. The formation of columnar mesoporous NiO with a concentric stacked doughnuts architecture was purely dependent on the suitable direct decomposition temperature at 1100 oC when the synthesis was carried out. The prepared NiO nanocrystals were coated on cotton fabric and their antibacterial activity was also analyzed. The NiO nanoparticle-treated cotton fabric exhibited good antibacterial and wash durability performance.

Bioaerosols become a more noticed and important problem in indoor air quality (IAQ) control. In this study, we investigated antibacterial effects of silver nano-particles on Escherichia coli, the common Gram negative bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus, the well-mown Gram positive bacteria under aerosol conditions. The bioaerosols containing each bacterial culture were contacted with silver nano-particles sprayed in a closed chamber. Experimental results showed that the silver nano-particles had strong antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. As anticipated, high antibacterial activity was found at a high silver concentration and a long the contact time. It was also found that the bactericidal rate decreased with time due to the aggregation of silver nano-particles. Overall, the experimental finding suggested that silver nano-particles could be successfully applied to improve indoor air quality.

For the austenitic stainless steel (304L) manufactured by metal injection molding(MIM), the effects of copper content and sintering temperature on the mechanical properties, antibacterial activities, corrosion resistance, and electric resistances were investigated. The specimens were prepared by injection molding of the premixed powders of water-atomized 304 L and Cu with poly-acetyl binders. The green compacts were prepared with various copper contents from 0 to 10 wt.% Cu, which were debound thermally at 873 K for 7.2 ks in gas atmosphere and subsequently sintered at various temperatures from 1323 K to 1623 K for 7.2 ks in Ar gas atmosphere. The relative density and tensile strength of the sintered compacts showed the minimum values at 5 and 8 wt.% Cu, respectively. Both the relative density and the tensile strength of the specimen with 10 wt.% Cu sintered at 1373 K showed the highest values, higher than those of copper-free specimen. Antibacterial activities investigated by the plastic film contact printing method for bacilli and the quantitative analysis of copper ion dissolved in water increased as the increase of the copper content to stainless steels. It was also verified by the measurement of pitting potential that the copper addition in 304 L could improve the corrosion resistance. Furthermore the electric conductivity increased with the increase of copper content.

In this study, high-purity silver nanocolloids were synthesized by an electrolytic reaction, and the effect of temperature on the nanocolloid concentration was analyzed by performing the reaction at 70 °C and 90 °C. The antibacterial properties of the thus-synthesized silver nanocolloids were also studied. When the synthesis was performed at 90 °C, the concentration of silver nanocolloid increased to 14 mg/L after 5 min, 1756 mg/L after 30 min, and 2147 mg/L after 60 min. The concentration of silver nanocolloid synthesized by electrolytic reaction at 70 °C and 90 °C for 60 min was 1,882 mg/L and 2147 mg/L, respectively. The preferred temperature at which the electrolytic synthesis is performed is 70 °C to obtain high concentrations of 1,000 mg/L or more. The antibacterial performance of the thus-synthesized silver nanocolloids was 99.9% for E. coli and 99.5% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.