TY - JOUR A1 - Elert, Anna Maria A1 - Kanerva, M A1 - Puolakka, A A1 - Takala, T.M. A1 - Mylläri, V A1 - Jönkkäri, I A1 - Sarlin, E A1 - Seitsonen, J A1 - Ruokolainen, J A1 - Saris, P A1 - Vuorinen, J T1 - Antibacterial polymer fibres by rosin compounding and melt-spinning N2 - The antibacterial features of natural pine/spruce rosin are well established, yet the functionality in various thermoplastics has not been surveyed. This work focuses on the processing of industrial grade purified rosin mixed with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), polyamide (PA) and corn starch based biopolymer (CS). Homopolymer masterbatches were extrusion-compounded and melt-spun to form fibres for a wide range of products, such as filters, reinforcements, clothing and medical textiles. Due to the versatile chemical structure of rosin, it was observed compatible with all the selected polymers. In general, the rosin-blended systems were shear-thinning in a molten condition. The doped fibres spun of PE and PP indicated adequate melt-spinning capability and proper mechanical properties in terms of ultimate strength and Young's modulus. The antibacterial response was found dependent on the selected polymer. Especially PE with a 10 wt% rosin content showed significant antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli DH5α and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12598 when analysed in the Ringer's solution for 24 h. KW - Rosin KW - Antibacterial KW - Thermoplastics PY - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-481785 SN - 2352-4928 VL - 20 SP - 527 EP - 527 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-48178 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -