3.10. Effect of metal dispersion upon polyol-functionalized cellulose
Similar antibacterial tests were also performed with cellulose-based samples against both E. coli and Bacillus (Fig. S13) . Untreated cellulose denoted as CT and its polyol-functionalized counterpart (H20@CT) showed no antibacterial activity. Here also, the mere insertion of metal in both oxidation states induced antibacterial properties. The strong activity of Cu-loaded cellulose matrices against bacteria can be illustrated by inhibition zone diameters of 1.6 cm for Cu0/CT and 1-3.5 cm for Cu0/H20@CT(Table 4) . This confirms once again the beneficial role of dendrimer H20 incorporation favoring CuNP dispersion. Silver-based samples are less effective as antimicrobial agents against both B. subtilis and E. coli DH5α, w hich can be related to a stronger HO:Ag interaction compared to HO:Cu interaction as supported by TPD measurements