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Abstract The sanitization of water supplies from microbial-causing diseases is a complex task, especially for water which is used in drinking, food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, the preparation of novel, safe, economic and environmentally friend antimicrobial composite material of living micro-particles was investigated. The antimicrobial composite material was prepared by the entrapment of living backer’s yeast cells in ca-alginate polymer (natural polymer), then the bio-sorption of copper ions onto the cell wall of the yeast cells. The effective agent in the antimicrobial composite material is the living yeast cells (average diameter 2-5 µm) with copper ions (radius = 87 pm). Different concentrations of CuSO4 (0.25, 0.5, 0.75& 1%) and different concentrations of living yeast (2, 2.5, 3%) were tested to investigate the optimum composition of the composite material. Also, the effect of the type of copper ions (Cu+2 or Cu+1) on the antimicrobial effect of the composite material was studied. A strain of Escherichia coli and a strain of Staphylococcus aureus were used as a model organism for antimicrobial tests, and the atomic absorption determination of the free copper ions in water after sanitization was also made. |