PLA - ZnO COMPOSITE WITH BACTERICIDAL AND FUNGICIDAL ACTIVITY

Authors

  • Raluca-Elena DRAGOMIR Department of Petroleum Refining Engineering and Environmental Protection, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 39 Bucharest Blvd., 100680 Ploiesti, Romania. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4190-4674
  • Cristina-Maria DUȘESCU-VASILE Department of Petroleum Refining Engineering and Environmental Protection, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 39 Bucharest Blvd., 100680 Ploiesti, Romania. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2267-9531
  • Andra-Ioana STĂNICĂ Technological Highschool “Toma Socolescu”, Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino St., 328, 100466 Ploiești, Romania.
  • Marian BĂJAN Department of Petroleum Refining Engineering and Environmental Protection, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 39 Bucharest Blvd., 100680 Ploiesti, Romania. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5856-3944
  • Daniel BOMBOȘ S.C. Medacril S.R.L, 8 Carpați Street, Mediaş, Sibiu County, Romania.
  • Ioan SAROSI Department Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development Entrepreneurship, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400641 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Andrei MOLDOVAN Department Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development Entrepreneurship, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400641 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Gabriel VASILIEVICI National Institute for Research Development for Chemistry and Petrochemistry-ICECHIM-București, 202 Spl. Independenței, 060021, Bucharest, Romania. *Corresponding author: gvasilievici@icechim.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0217-929X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2026.2.16

Keywords:

PLA composite, Proviplast 2624, ZnO, Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus mold

Abstract

A plasticized polylactic acid (PLA) composite incorporating zinc oxide (ZnO) was synthesized via melt mixing and hot pressing. The physicochemical and preliminary microbiological properties of the composite were systematically evaluated. ZnO powder, produced through precipitation and calcination, was characterized using dynamic light scattering and nitrogen sorption analysis. The PLA composite, comprising PLA, Proviplast 2624, Span 60, and ZnO, was subjected to tensile and flexural testing, oxygen and water vapor barrier measurements, water uptake analysis, contact angle assessment, and Atenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The ZnO powder exhibited a broad, aggregate-dominated particle-size distribution and a moderate specific surface area. The composite displayed reduced stiffness and strength relative to neat PLA, indicating effective plasticization. Preliminary microbiological assays indicated decreased recovery of the tested microorganisms under the specified conditions.

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STUDIA UBB CHEMIA, Volume 71 (LXXI), No. 2, June 2026

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Published

2026-06-23

How to Cite

DRAGOMIR, R.-E., DUȘESCU-VASILE, C.-M., STĂNICĂ, A.-I., BĂJAN, M., BOMBOȘ, D., SAROSI, I., … VASILIEVICI, G. (2026). PLA - ZnO COMPOSITE WITH BACTERICIDAL AND FUNGICIDAL ACTIVITY. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Chemia, 71(2), 307–334. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2026.2.16

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Volume 71, No. 2, 2026

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