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