Journal
COATINGS
Volume 8, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/coatings8120415
Keywords
chitosan composites; FTIR; natural protectors; poplar wood; white-rot fungus
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Funding
- Instituto Tecnologico Agrario y Agroalimentario (ITAGRA, Spain)
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Chitosan and chitosan oligomers are receiving increasing attention due to their antimicrobial properties. In the present study, they were assayed as a preventive treatment against white-rot decay of Populus wood (very important in economic and environmental terms), caused by Trametes versicolor fungus. Their capacity to incorporate different chemical species into the polymer structure with a view to improving their anti-fungal activity was also assessed by mixing oligo-chitosan with propolis and silver nanoparticles. The minimum inhibitory concentration of medium-molecular weight chitosan (MMWC), chitosan oligomers (CO), propolis (P), nanosilver (nAg), and their binary and ternary composites against T. versicolor was determined in vitro. Although all products exhibited anti-fungal properties, composites showed an enhanced effect as compared to the individual products: 100% mycelial growth inhibition was attained for concentrations of 2.0 and 0.2 mg.mL(-1) for the CO-P binary mixture, respectively; and 2 mu g.mL(-1) for nAg in the ternary mixture. Subsequently, MMWC, CO, CO-P and CO-P-nAg composites were tested on poplar wood blocks as surface protectors. Wood decay caused by the fungus was monitored by microscopy and vibrational spectroscopy, evidencing the limitations of the CO-based coatings in comparison with MMWC, which has a higher viscosity and better adhesion properties. The usage of MMWC holds promise for poplar wood protection, with potential industrial applications.
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