Production Sericin/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Blend Membranes Containing One‐Step Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles by UV Radiation for Obtaining Versatile Antibacterial Materials

Abstract In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were in‐situ synthesized in silk sericin/poly(vinyl alcohol) (SS/PVA) mixtures by an easy one‐step synthesis method with the presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Then, the SS/PVA composite membranes containing AgNPs were obtained by solvent casting method. The chemical structures of the membranes were investigated by fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and results showed that the membranes were a mixture of silk sericin and PVA. The morphological features of the membranes were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and it was seen that AgNPs containing membranes have heterogeneous structures. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed that the membranes contain carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and silver. X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses also proved the presence of AgNPs in the structure of membranes. The antibacterial activities of membranes containing AgNPs were investigated on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria with disk diffusion test and liquid culture medium incubation. It was found that SS/PVA membranes containing 5 and 10 mM AgNPs have quite high antibacterial activity on both types of bacteria. The functional SS/PVA membranes have capacity to be used in biomedical applications such as wound care materials.