Antibacterial Polymeric Nanofibers from Zwitterionic Terpolymers by Electrospinning for Air Filtration

Abstract

A high-molecular-weight poly­(styrene-co-2-(dimethylamino)­ethyl methacrylate-co-acrylonitrile) (ABC)-type terpolymer with a high tensile strength (7.36 MPa) was synthesized using free radical polymerization. Sulfobetaine zwitterionic groups, N,N-dimethyl-N-methacryloxyethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl), were introduced into the ABC terpolymer, and electrospun nanofibers were fabricated for the removal of particulate matter particles in air streams. The nanofibers exhibit a high filtering efficiency (>99.9%) with a low pressure drop (177 Pa) at a constant airflow velocity of 5.3 cm s–1 with a quality factor of 0.025 Pa–1. Almost no effect on the filtering efficiency and pressure drop for nanofiber mats is observed even after treatment with saturated vapors of isopropyl alcohol for 24 h, confirming to ISO 16890. With fiber diameters in the range of 340–600 nm, the particle capture possibility is increased because of the large surface area compared to known electrospun nanofibers. The nanofibers also show an excellent antibacterial activity (99.9%) against the Gram-negative bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 4352) and the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) because of the presence of the sulfobetaine zwitterionic groups. The antibacterial property of nanofibers is desirable for air filter applications to prevent the spread of infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria.

Global View and Trends in Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes for Particulate Matter Filtration: A Review

“…[ 77 ] Antibacterial polymeric nanofibers from Zwitterionic Terpolymers show an excellent antibacterial activity (99.9%) against the gram‐negative bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 4352) and the gram‐positive bacterium S. aureus (ATCC 6538) because of the presence of the sulfobetaine zwitterionic groups. [ 127 ] In the same way a high efficiency nanofibrous membrane composed of gelatin (GT) and silk fibroin (SF), in which antibacterial agent can anchor via electrostatic spinning was developed. [ 128 ]…”

Cellulose Acetate-Based Electrospun Materials with a Variety of Biological Potentials: Antibacterial, Antifungal and Anticancer

“…Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown the importance of developments in the fabrication of advanced materials. Electrospun materials with high drug loadings as oral delivery systems and advanced self-cleaning protective functional materials with excellent antibacterial and antiviral activities were obtained recently by electrospinning [14][15][16].…”

Antibacterial Activity of Polyaniline Coated in the Patterned Film Depending on the Surface Morphology and Acidic Dopant

“…The antibiofilm activity of these polymers is attributed to the hydrogen bonding ability and static-induced hydration layer formation. The hydration layer can lead to a strong repulsive force and, therefore, show high resistance to cell adhesion, biofilm formation, and nonspecific protein adsorption [ 67 ]. These results illustrate that the doped films were versatile toward resisting the attachment of bacteria and the subsequent formation of biofilms by both Gram-negative ( E. coli ) and Gram-positive ( S. aureus ) bacteria.…”