The influence of silver and copper ions on the antibacterial activity and local electrical properties of single sepiolite fiber: A conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) study

This is a study to analyze antibacterial and electrically-conductive sepiolite, and to evaluate its potential usage as biomaterials, medical products, sensors and electronics. Silver and copper ions were used to modify the properties of sepiolite through a multi-step procedure. During the modification of the sepiolite fibers, the most significant adsorption rates were obtained at metal uptake concentrations of 50 mg/g for Ag+ and 80 mg/g for Cu2+. This was found to fit the Langmuir isotherm model, thereby indicating the formation of a monolayer on the sepiolite surfaces by silver and copper ions. The effects of adsorbed silver and copper ions at the optimum metal uptake concentrations were then compared in terms of their antibacterial activity and electrical conductivity.