Hollow PET fibers containing silver particles as antibacterial materials

Silver ions can effectively kill bacteria due to their adsorption onto the negatively charged bacterial cell wall, thus deactivating cellular enzymes, disrupting membrane permeability, and ultimately leading to cell lysis and death. In this study, silver particles incorporated into hollow polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers are utilized as an antibacterial composition against the bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus. Also, a silver ion-bacterium model similar to the predator-prey model is established to analyze the inhibitory effect of silver ions on S. aureus. In contact with an aqueous solution, silver ions are released from hollow PET fibers into the solution. When a silver ion in an active medium is absorbed by a bacterium, the bacterium dies and the concentration of silver ions lowers in the medium. To keep the concentration of silver ions in the medium constant, another silver ion is released from the hollow fiber, making the silver ion-bacterium model much simpler to be solved analytically. This study shows that there is an optimal concentration of silver ions at which minimal cytotoxicity and maximal antibacterial efficacy can be achieved. To support this, experimental verification is also carried out in this study.