INVESTIGATING ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PIG LEATHER TREATED WITH SILVER NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIZED USING PIPER BETLE LEAF EXTRACT

Abstract

Leather material used for the lining layer in shoes represents a reservoir of
bacteria and a potential risk for wearers. Thus, leather shoes with highly effective
antibacterial property are of great interest to consumers. To fabricate such
functional leather, green synthesized silver nanoparticles using Piper betle L.
leave extract were used as antibacterial agent to treat for pig leather via
immersion method. The morphology of the coating and the distribution of nano
silver were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by energy
dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (XRD). The antibacterial capability of the nano
silver treated pig leathers was evaluated against both gram-negative
(Escherichia coli) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria via the
AATCC 90 standard for inhibition zone test. The results showed that the pig
leathers embedded with nano silver had efficient antibacterial activity with both
the tested bacteria species.