ABSTRACT:The antimicrobial polymer/polymer macrocomplexes were synthesized by radical alternating copolymerization of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone with maleic anhydride [poly(VP-alt-MA)] with 2,2 0 -azobis-isobutyronitrile as an initiator at 658C in dioxane solutions under nitrogen atmosphere, and interaction of prepared copolymer with poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) in aqueous solutions. The susceptibility of some Gram-negative (Salmonella enteritidis and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) bacteria to the alternating copolymer and its PEI macrocomplexes with different compositions in microbiological medium was studied using pour-plate technique. All the studied polymers, containing biologically active moieties in the form of ionized cyclic amide, and macrobranched aliphatic amine groups and acid/amine complexed fragments, were more effective against L. monocytogenes than those for Gram-positive S. aureus bacterium. This fact was explained by different surface layer structural architectures of biomacromolecules of tested bacteria. The resulting polymeric antimicrobial materials are expected to be used in various areas of medicine and food industry.

In this study, efficacy of seven different commercial disinfectant preparations was investigated against characteristic bacteria of a poultry slaughterhouse in Ankara (Turkey) by using paper disc-agar diffusion method and surface effectiveness test. According to paper disc-agar diffusion method, some disinfectants had wide efficacy against the test bacteria. The disinfectant effectiveness generally increased by the increasing of disinfectant concentration. However, some disinfectants were ineffective even though at their highest concentrations. The most effective disinfectant was B which contains QAC as active agent. Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the most sensitive bacteria to the disinfectants. Some pathogenic isolates, especially Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp., were the most resistant ones to many of the disinfectants tested. The results of paper disc-agar diffusion method indicated the importance of characteristic bacterial strains of food plants as the test bacteria for disinfectant efficacy tests. Conversely of paper disc-agar diffusion method, all disinfectants were effective against the isolates by surface effectiveness test depending on exposure time. The disinfectants, except A and F, produced at least 3 log unit reduction during 5 min of exposure. However, all disinfectants at their lowest concentrations were effective against all tested bacteria during 15 and 30 min by this test.

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