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Antibacterial natural leather for application in the public transport system

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Abstract

In the public transport system, hand-touch surfaces such as seats in buses, trains, trams, and airplanes represent a reservoir of bacteria and a potential risk for contamination among passengers. The antimicrobial activity of silver has been known since ancient times. In this work, natural leather commonly used in the public transport system was treated with silver through the in situ photoreduction of a silver solution. The morphology of the coating and the distribution of silver clusters were studied by scanning electron microscopy and by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The amount of silver on the surface was quantified by thermo-gravimetric analysis. The antibacterial capability of the treated materials was checked against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Taber test was conducted on silver treated samples in order to study the durability of the treatment. The morphology of the silver coating and its antibacterial capability were analyzed also after the Taber test.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge all the R&D Department of Adler Group for all the technical support and useful discussions during the experimental development and Dr. Paolo Scudieri for the comments and thoughts on the analyses to be performed in conditions closer to potential applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    M. Pollini, F. Paladini, A. Licciulli, A. Maffezzoli & A. Sannino

  2. Department of Engineering for Innovation, Silvertech Ltd, Via Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    M. Pollini, A. Licciulli & A. Sannino

  3. Department of Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples ‘‘Federico II’’, 80125, Naples, Italy

    L. Nicolais

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  1. M. Pollini
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  2. F. Paladini
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  3. A. Licciulli
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  4. A. Maffezzoli
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  5. A. Sannino
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  6. L. Nicolais
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Correspondence to M. Pollini.

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Pollini, M., Paladini, F., Licciulli, A. et al. Antibacterial natural leather for application in the public transport system. J Coat Technol Res 10, 239–245 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-012-9439-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-012-9439-1

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