Effective Antibacterial Glass Fiber Membrane Prepared by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Grafting

Abstract

This paper reports a novel glass fiber membrane with an effective antibacterial performance by chemical grafting of quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) which is enhanced by a plasma bombardment technique. Plasma bombardment as a pretreatment of the membrane can increase the QAS anchored on the membrane from 0.8 to 1.3 wt %. The chemical grafting technique can increase the membrane zeta potential from negative values to positive values in aqueous solutions at various pHs. Furthermore, the plasma-enhanced chemical-grafting membrane has more positive zeta potentials (49.0 mV at pH = 7) than the chemical-grafting membrane without the plasma bombardment technique (38.9 mV at pH = 7). In the antibacterial performance evaluation, the Escherichia coli survival rate decreased from 127.0% of the pristine membrane to 4.1 and 11.3% of the plasma-enhanced chemical-grafting membrane and the chemical-grafting membrane, respectively. In addition, the plasma-enhanced chemical-grafting membrane shows durable antibacterial activity against E. coli with copious water rinsing as much as 3 L·cm–2.

Biological and Physiochemical Methods of Biofilm Adhesion Resistance Control of Medical-Context Surface

“…As early as 1916, Jacobs et al found that most of the QAS obtained by the reaction of hexamethylenetetramine with various substituted benzyl or alkyl halides had strong bactericidal activity [75]. Guo et al [76] pre-treated glass fibre membranes with plasma bombardment and further used chemical grafting to anchor QAS molecules on the surface of glass fibre membranes and found that the antibacterial effect on the surface of glass fibre membranes was significant after modification by QAS [77][78]. Wan et al [79] synthesised QAS copolymers, which exhibited excellent antibacterial properties due to their better water solubility and easier access to bacteria.…”

From Antibacterial to Antibiofilm Targeting: An Emerging Paradigm Shift in the Development of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs)

“…Xia's group reported the formation of an antibacterial glass fiber membrane by plasma-enhanced chemical grafting (PCG) of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride. 235 The plasma bombardment of fiberglass has proven to be an effective glass pretreatment method. Compared with other surface activation methods (for example, activation by acid and alkaline or ozone surface activation), plasmaenhanced surface functionalization is more environmentally friendly and easier to operate.…”

“…If there are no necessary functional groups on the surface, it can be activated by plasma technology. Xia’s group reported the formation of an antibacterial glass fiber membrane by plasma-enhanced chemical grafting (PCG) of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)­propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride . The plasma bombardment of fiberglass has proven to be an effective glass pretreatment method.…”

State of the art in nonthermal plasma processing for biomedical applications: Can it help fight viral pandemics like COVID‐19?

“…[ 91 ] Whereas the nonpolar chains of QAS/PS interact with the nonpolar, inner part of cytoplasmic membranes, the positive charges on the groups interact with the polar outer part of the membranes, disrupting the electrical and osmotic balance and other important functions of the cell to culminate in bacteriolysis. [ 92 ] QASs have been plasma‐grafted on different surfaces, namely polypropylene, [ 93 ] glass fiber membranes, [ 94 ] and polyethylene foils [ 95 ] to impart antibiofouling properties.…”