Design and fabrication of a plasma jet device for printing copper nanoparticles on tissue paper containing suspensions of two fungi Aspergillus and Penicillium and investigating its antifungal properties

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Zahra Ghorbani 1
Mohammad Taghi Ahmadi 1
Meisam Rahmani 2
1 Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Urmia.
2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Buein Zahra Technical University, Buein Zahra, Qazvin, Iran.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the antifungal properties of tissue paper containing copper nanoparticles using designed equipment including a wire electric explosion device and a plasma jet printer. For this purpose, copper nanoparticles of different sizes were first synthesized by a wire electric explosion device and the size of nanoparticles dissolved in distilled water was determined by a DLS device. Then, copper nanoparticles were printed on the flexible surface of the paper towel using a plasma jet device. The advantage of using this printer is due to the uniform printing of nanoparticles with the lowest amount. To investigate the antifungal properties of tissue paper containing copper nanoparticles, a suspension of two fungi, Aspergillus and Penicillium, was used. Nanofocus images taken from tissue paper samples indicate the uniform distribution of nanoparticles on the sample surface due to the presence of plasma. Also, changes in the antifungal properties of tissue paper were investigated by changing parameters such as changing the size of nanoparticles and changing the concentration. The rate of fungal growth on the tissue paper was also observed by a digital camera and the antifungal properties (growth reduction or growth arrest) were proven.
Keywords
Copper nanoparticles
Electric wire explosion
Plasma jet printer
Antifungal
Tissue paper
Subjects

  • Receive Date 22 March 2025
  • Revise Date 23 May 2025
  • Accept Date 30 September 2025