Electroconductive and antimicrobial composite films of nanocellulose, polypyrrole and silver nanoparticles

Nanocellulose has lately caused a great attention in numerious applcation areas, e.g. organic electronics, biosensors, tissue engineering, etc. owning to its superior mechanical properties. Here, we present a novel approach for fabricating nanocellulose/conducting polymer composites using anionic cellulose nanofibrils as synthesis template and constructing matrix. Thus, polypyrrole was synthesized in the suspension of cellulose nanofibrils via in situ one-step chemical polymerization. Moreover, silver nanoparticles were also introduced during the synthesis process. Flexible and free-standing composite films were prepared from the thus-obtained composite suspension. The composite films showed good mechanical and electrical properties. With incorporation of silver nanoparticles, the films also had strong inhibition effect against the growth of the Gram-positive bacteria, e.g. Staphylococcus aureus. This makes it possible to use the resulting composites in various applications aimed for biomedical treatments and diagnostics.