Effect of Glutaraldehyde on the Antibacterial Resistance of Waste Office Paper-based Boards

Abstract

This research investigated the effect of glutaraldehyde solutions on antibacterial resistance of composite boards manufactured with different combinations of urea formaldehyde (UF) and glutaraldehyde (GA) binder adhesives. The composite boards were general-purpose furniture panels (e.g., kitchen worktops, shelving, laboratory benchtops, or cabinet components) intended for household or workshop environments where surfaces may encounter microbial contamination from hands or spills, but not for direct food contact. Composite boards with varying UF/GA ratios and different binder solution concentrations were manufactured. The surfaces of these boards were treated with different numbers of layers (one or two) using GA solutions at 10% and 20% concentrations. The antibacterial performance of all samples was quantitatively evaluated by measuring the percentage of microbial growth. The results revealed a strong synergistic effect between the binder chemistry and surface treatment on antibacterial activity. The highest antibacterial performance was observed when the board containing 7.5% UF and 7.5% GA was treated with two layers of 10% GA solution, which suppressed microbial growth to a remarkably low level of 4.30%. Conversely, high-concentration GA applications adversely affected performance and noticeably reduced antibacterial efficacy in samples containing only pure UF or GA.