Date of Award

Spring 2026

Thesis Type

Rollins Access Only

Degree Name

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Department

Chemistry

Sponsor

Dr. Ellane Park Yook

Committee Member

Dr. Kasandra Riley

Committee Member

Dr. Brian Mosby

Abstract

Nanotechnology has been applied in fields such as art, medicine, and manufacturing as early as the fourth century AD. Silver nanoparticles, or AgNPs, are of particular interest due to their antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility. This study aimed to develop an AgNP-embedded thin film that can be applied to a water filter to provide chemical antimicrobial protection alongside physical filtration. A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was applied to a glass surface using a trimethoxysilane-terminated phthalimide ligand in the period of 48 hours. The SAM surface was then coated in thiolated polyethylene glycol (TPEG), a biocompatible polymer selected for its thiol functional groups that readily bind to silver. The SAM-TPEG surface was irradiated at 254 nm to initiate the abstraction of a hydrogen from the phthalimide head group and covalent binding to the hydrocarbon chains of TPEG. The substrate was then immersed in an AgNP solution to allow AgNPs to bind to the thiol groups for 48 hours. In this study, the concentration of AgNP solutions (0.5xAgNP, 1xAgNP, and 2xAgNP) was varied with the expectation of modulating the amount of AgNPs on each surface. The relative amount of AgNPs effectively bound to the surface was characterized with UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The antimicrobial behavior of the slides was assessed using CompactDry colony-counting assays. 0.5xAgNP functionalized slides showed an average absorbance of 0.046 a.u., 1xAgNP functionalized slides showed an average absorbance of 0.064 a.u. (± 1.22 x 10-3), and 2xAgNP functionalized slides showed an average absorbance of 0.119 a.u (± 8.88 x 10-3). An increase in absorbance maxima across UV-Vis analyses indicated a greater proportion of film-bound AgNPs in slides functionalized with higher concentration solutions. XPS spectra showed relatively equivalent amounts of AgNPs regardless of solution concentration, with the silver-to-silicon ratio decreasing from 0.42 to 0.39 as the AgNP solution concentration increased from 1xAgNP to 2xAgNP, indicating a need to revisit synthesis protocol and optimize the surface coverage of the film by ensuring the uniformity of each layer. CompactDry assays indicated that AgNPs retained their antimicrobial capacity when embedded in the thin films, although further work must be done to standardize testing protocol.

Rights Holder

Robin Warner

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