The aim of this work was to prepare and characterize thin
films obtained from weak polyelectrolytes with
silver nanoparticles and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde for the development of a new material to be
used as a bactericidal agent in the treatment of industrial wastewaters. To evaluate the efficiency of these
materials, the thin
films were used for the treatment of an industrial wastewater sample. It was observed
that, after 360 min of treatment, the thin
films which presented the better inhibitory activity against
Escherichia coli in the preliminary microbiological tests decreased by up to 93% the total coliforms present
originally in the industrial wastewater sample. Considering the ease of application, low environmental
impact, and satisfactory inhibiting action, the thin
films developed in this work have a great potential to
be used as a means of enhancing the removal of coliform bacteria from industrial wastewaters.