Development of biodegradable polymers that can recognize microorganisms

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The goal on this research is to prepare biodegradable polymer that have ability of recognition for microorganisms. For the purpose, we have prepared various microscopic patterns with different size on the surface of biodegradable polymers. It was fond that the polymer surface recognized fungi by controlling the micro-scale size of porous structure and regularly aligned concavity and convexity structures.Smooth biodegradable polymer surface did not adsorb any type of fungi. On the other hand, fungi was strongly adsorbed to the concavity and convexity structure with the cross pitch of 30μm x 30μm. Producing the water repellent surface onto biodegradable polymer must result in some new functions. The antibacterial property may also be obtained by the water repellency on the biodegradable polymer surface. Among water repellent natural leaves, we have chosen a structure of aroid leaf for preparing super-hydrophobic surface on biodegradable sheet since it has high water contact angle and the concavity-pattern is thought to be enough handle for a material use. Transcribing aroid structure gave 30μm ordered concavity-pattern on biodegradable polymer surface and the solvent treatment resulted in sub-micrometer ordered roughness.The water repellent natural leaves usually have antibacterial property due to the prevention of water. To investigate the antibacterial property, the transcribed biodegradable samples were soaked into fungus culture having isolated Asperugillus sp and E.coli. The filamentous fungus and bacteria did not grow on the transcribed surface with solvent treatment. The results suggested that combination of two ordered structures, i.e. several micrometer and sub-micrometer patterns recognize microorganisms.