Université de Fribourg

Development of a polystyrene sulfonate/silver nanocomposite with self-healing properties for biomaterial applications

Girard, Jérôme ; Brunetto, Priscilla S. ; Braissant, Olivier ; Rajacic, Zarko ; Khanna, Nina ; Landmann, Regine ; Daniels, Alma U. ; Fromm, Katharina M.

In: Comptes Rendus Chimie, 2013, vol. 16, no. 6, p. 550–556

A silver polystyrene sulfonate polyelectrolyte was synthesized, showing a spontaneous reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles over a period of approximately 1 month. A follow-up of the nanoparticle formation via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals migration of the nanoparticles towards the cracks of the polymer over time, leading to a self-healing process of the nanocomposite....

Université de Fribourg

Silver coordination polymers for prevention of implant infection: thiol interaction, impact on respiratory chain enzymes, and hydroxyl radical induction

Gordon, Oliver ; Slenters, Tünde Vig ; Brunetto, Priscilla S. ; Villaruz, Amer E. ; Sturdevant, Daniel E. ; Otto, Michael ; Landmann, Regine ; Fromm, Katharina M.

In: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2010, vol. 54, no. 10, p. 4208-4218

Prosthetic joint replacements are used increasingly to alleviate pain and improve mobility of the progressively older and more obese population. Implant infection occurs in about 5% of patients and entails significant morbidity and high social costs. It is most often caused by staphylococci, which are introduced perioperatively. They are a source of prolonged seeding and difficult to treat...

Université de Fribourg

Of chains and rings: synthetic strategies and theoretical investigations for tuning the structure of silver coordination compounds and their applications

Slenters, Tünde Vig ; Sagué, Jorge L. ; Brunetto, Priscilla S. ; Zuber, Stefanie ; Fleury, Antoine ; Mirolo, Laurent ; Robin, Adeline Y. ; Meuwly, Markus ; Gordon, Oliver ; Landmann, Regine ; Daniels, Alma U. ; Fromm, Katharina M.

In: Materials, 2010, vol. 3, no. 5, p. 3407-3429

Varying the polyethyleneglycol spacer between two (iso)-nicotinic groups of the ligand systems, a large structural variety of silver coordination compounds was obtained, starting with zero-dimensional ring systems, via one-dimensional chains, helices and double-helices to two-dimensional polycatenanes. Theoretical calculations help to understand their formation and allow predictions in some...