Preparation and Characterization of UV-Curable Acrylic Membranes Embedding Natural Antioxidants

• Main Authors: Ewa Rajczak, Bartosz Tylkowski, Magda Constantí, Monika Haponska, Boryana Trusheva, Giulio Malucelli, Marta Giamberini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: Polymers
• Subjects: acrylic membrane; tea powder; propolis; antibacterial activity
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/2/358

We examine the behaviour of acrylic resin-based membranes containing natural anti-oxidants, such as <i>Galla chinensis</i> tea powder extract (TP) and Taiwanese green propolis (TGP), in different concentrations ranging between 5 and 20 wt %. Membrane morphology was investigated by means of Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM), while the UV-curing reaction was monitored by Fourier-Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. In most cases Thermogravimetric (TG), Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) and Dynamo-mechanical Thermal (DMT) analyses showed that the desirable characteristics of the UV-cured acrylic resin are not substantially altered by the presence of the organic fillers. The release kinetics of polyphenols and flavonoids, determined in water for TP-containing membranes (ETx) and in ethanol/water mixture (7:3 <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>) for TGP-containing ones (EPx), was satisfactory, reaching a <i>plateau</i> after 24 h. Finally, preliminary antibacterial tests against <i>S. epidermidis</i> were performed on the membranes with higher additive amount and gave positive results for ET-type; on the contrary, no inhibitory effect was observed for the tested EP-type membranes.