Investigation of swelling and antibacterial properties of carboxymethyl chitosan/poly(vinylalcohol) nanocomposite hydrogel beads containing ZnO nanoparticles

The CsMe/PVA/ZnO nanocomposite hydrogel beads have been introduced a new technique, which is dependent on pH. They were prepared successfully in situ by forming of ZnO nanoparticles within swollen CsMe/PVA hydrogel beads. The resulting hydrogel beads were examined by running various experimental procedures such as FT-IR, XRD, EDX and SEM. XRD and EDX patterns verified the formation of ZnO nanoparticles in the bead networks; moreover, the formation of ZnO nanoparticles with size range from 44 to 88 nm within the bead matrix was confirmed by SEM micrographs. The prepared nanocomposite hydrogel beads showed a pH-sensitive swelling behavior. The results showed that the prepared nanocomposite hydrogel beads outperformed the pure CsMe/PVA hydrogel beads in terms of swelling capacity in various pH values and salt solutions. The antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite hydrogel beads was examined and mechanisms involved in their synthesis were reported; the results showed an excellent antibacterial behavior of the nanocomposite hydrogel bead. (author)