This paper has antibacterial activity

The main mineral component of our bones and teeth — hydroxyapatite [HAP; Ca10(OH)2(PO4)6] — has been used by a Chinese team to develop a highly flexible paper with high antibacterial activity. The paper, made from silver nanoparticle-decorated ultra-long HAP nanowires (HAPNWs@AgNPs) has been developed by a team from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (www.sic.cas.cn) led by professor Ying-Jie Zhu. In a previous study (Chem. Eng., April 2014, p. 12; www.chemengonline.com/an-inorganic-paper-for-preserving-information-and-other-applications), the team had developed a highly flexible and fire-resistant inorganic paper, also made from HAP nanowires. The HAPNWs@AgNPs nanocomposites were synthesized by a simple one-step solvo-thermal procedure and used for constructing the paper by vacuum filtration. The nanowires have a diameter of about 20 nm and lengths from several tens of micrometers to more than 100 micrometers. In the HAPNWs@AgNPs, the surface of the nanowires is decorated with abundant and well-dispersed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). AgNPs exhibit a narrow particle size distribution with an average size of 22.5 nm. According to the team, the ultralong HAP nanowires endow the paper with high…