Assessment of Antibacterial Properties of Polyvinylamine (PVAm) with Different Charge Densities and Hydrophobic Modifications

Abstract

Hydrophobically modified and unmodified polyvinylamines (PVAm), including a total of five polymers, were tested against both gram-negative ( Escherichia coli ) and gram-positive ( Bacillus subtilis ) bacteria for antimicrobial activity. The assessment of PVAm in solution against bacteria is described, and the influence of the charge density and of the hydrophobic modification of the polyelectrolyte is discussed. The antimicrobial activity was found to depend upon the concentration of PVAm and also on the type of bacteria used. The results also indicated that no direct relationship exists between antimicrobial activity and charge density of the different PVAms. It was, however, observed that an alkyl chain length of six or eight alkane units had a substantial effect on the bacteria investigated. The best combined antibacterial activity for the two bacteria tested was achieved for PVAm with a C(6) alkane substituent (PVAm C(6)). To evaluate the antimicrobial activity on a solid substrate, PVAm C(6) was further studied after being deposited onto a glass slide and the results show a large reduction in bacterial infection.

A comblike polysiloxane with pendant quaternary ammonium polyether groups: its synthesis, physical properties and antibacterial performance

“…This phenomenon is in agreement with some recent reports [28][29][30][31] and attributed to the difference in the structure of their cell walls. The Gram positive bacteria, such as S. aureus, own a single cell wall structure.…”

Water-stable cellulose fiber foam with antimicrobial properties for bio based low-density materials

“…Polyvinylamine (PVAm) is a cationic polymer that is used in the paper industry to increase the strength of paper (BASF 2010). PVAm has good antibacterial properties, due to its primary amine groups, and has been used in several studies to create contact-active antibacterial cellulose using Layer-by-Layer (LbL) modification (Chen et al 2017;Henschen et al 2016;Illergård et al 2011Illergård et al , 2015Westman et al 2009). Chitosan is a cationic polysaccharide derived from naturally occurring chitin through deacetylation, and it is used in cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products because of its antimicrobial properties (Rinaudo 2006;Sebti et al 2005).…”

Contact-active antibacterial aerogels from cellulose nanofibrils

“…The advantages of LbL modification include mild process parameters and the absence of organic solvents, the modification typically being performed in water at room temperature [22]. It was earlier found that multilayers of polyvinylamine (PVAm) combined with polyacrylic acid (PAA) can exhibit antibacterial properties when deposited on both regenerated cellulose [28,29] and pulp fibers [30]; moreover, by using pulp fibers, this system was capable of removing >99.9% of bacteria from a suspension [30].…”