Application of glass particles doped by Zn+2 as an antimicrobial and atoxic compound in LLDPE and HDPE

This study demonstrates the potential application of glass particles doped with Zn+2 (GZn) as an atoxic, antimicrobial additive when used in conjunction with high density polyethylene (HOPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) polymers. Toxicity tests demonstrated that these modified glass particles were nontoxic to human cells, and atomic absorption analyses demonstrated the migration of ionic species in quantities less than 2.0 ppm for both the HDPE/GZn and LLDPE/GZn compounds. Microbiological tests demonstrated the antimicrobial effect of the pure GZn compound as well as the polymeric HDPE/GZn and LLDPE/GZn compounds. In addition, at percentages of GZn higher than 2.00 wt.% and at a time of 4 h, the bactericidal performance is excellent and equal for both polymeric compounds. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.