Abstract A good strategy to prevent early deposition of bacteria that can form biofilms is the application of antimicrobial coatings to existing surfaces, however this field has been little explored and coatings are often non uniform in thickness. A homogeneous film of R-Carvone-Octadiene (ppCop) was deposited on different substrates (coverslip, minced coverslip and fabric) by cold plasma copolymerization to study the influence of the substrate on antimicrobial activity and show clues about the influence of octadiene on copolymerization. The ppCop showed better antimicrobial activity results on the substrate with higher effective contact area, highlighting the influence of this variable on antimicrobial activity. The ppCop deposited on minced coverslip showed an inhibition of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria by 48.69 ±0.08% and 49.31 ±0.58% respectively, with an average roughness of 14.1±0.02 nm and a static water contact angle of 79± 0.4°. The ppCop showed no cytotoxicity to the human cell line.

Abstract Currently there is a great trend towards cleaner, more sustainable and green production, based on a circular economy. Therefore, in the present work the study of the effect of the concentration of potato starch, aloe vera and graphene on the mechanical properties, water vapor permeability, biodegradability and structural properties of bioplastics is reported. These bioplastics could replace conventional synthetic plastics that currently produce high environmental pollution. According to the statistical analysis of a 2˄3 factorial design, a biodegradable bioplastic with improved mechanical properties was obtained, with a high maximum stress of 2.49 ± 0.28 MPa at high concentration levels of starch, aloe vera and graphene (10% w/w starch, 24% w/w of aloe and 0.045% w/w of graphene). A minimum value of permeance and permeability to water vapor of 5.35 kg/h.kPa.m2 and 0.001839 kg/h.kPa.m, respectively, was found at a graphene concentration of 0.005%; aloe concentration, 24%; and starch concentration, 10%.