Tailoring Macromolecular Structure of Cationic Polymers towards Efficient Contact Active Antimicrobial Surfaces

Abstract

The aim of this work is the preparation of contact active antimicrobial films by blending copolymers with quaternary ammonium salts and polyacrylonitrile as matrix material. A series of copolymers based on acrylonitrile and methacrylic monomers with quaternizable groups were designed with the purpose of investigating the influence of their chemical and structural characteristics on the antimicrobial activity of these surfaces. The biocide activity of these systems was studied against different microorganisms, such as the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomona aeruginosa and the yeast Candida parapsilosis. The results confirmed that parameters such as flexibility and polarity of the antimicrobial polymers immobilized on the surfaces strongly affect the efficiency against microorganisms. In contrast to the behavior of copolymers in water solutions, when they are tethered to the surface, the active cationic groups are less accessible and then the mobility of the side chain is critical for a good contact with the microorganism. Blend films composed of copolymers with high positive charge density and chain mobility present up to a more than 99.999% killing efficiency against the studied microorganisms.Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted:

Antimicrobial surfaces obtained from blends of block copolymers synthesized by simultaneous ATRP and click chemistry reactions

“…In addition, the block copolymers bearing these cationic structures were employed as surfactant in emulsion polymerization of butyl methacrylate and subsequently antimicrobial coating were also prepared from the resulting latex [20]. It was showed, as previously demonstrated in other publications [21,22], that the use of these block copolymers as surfactants in low percentage allows the decoration of surfaces with antimicrobial structures. The resulting coatings presented antimicrobial efficiency against Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis bacteria, both gram-positive bacteria.…”

“…In previous works, our group has tested the effectiveness in aqueous solution of different quaternized homopolymers and copolymers bearing two cationic groups per monomer units, thiazole and triazole moieties. These polymers were synthesized by both conventional radical polymerization and by controlled techniques via simultaneous ATRP and click chemistry [12,[21][22][23]. In addition, the block copolymers bearing these cationic structures were employed as surfactant in emulsion polymerization of butyl methacrylate and subsequently antimicrobial coating were also prepared from the resulting latex [20].…”

“…Therefore, a balance is required to obtain an optimal structure. Previous investigations showed that the butyl quaternized PMTA homopolymers present a highly selective toxicity against microorganisms, because they are non-hemolytic exhibiting potent antimicrobial activity [22]. Hence, in this work the quaternization reactions were carried out with 1-iodobutane in DMF at 80 ºC using a great Table 2.…”

Comparison of poly(ethylene glycol)-based networks obtained by cationic ring opening polymerization of neutral and 1,2,3-triazolium diepoxy monomers

“…A broad library of TPILs with tailored structure, functionality and properties, e.g. linear and hyperbranched ionenes, 9,10 poly(meth)acrylates, 11,12 polystyrenes, 13 poly(vinyl ester)s, 14 poly(4-vinyl-1,2,3-triazolium)s, 15 poly(ethylene glycol)s, 16 poly(aryl ether)s, 17 polyurethanes, 18 polypeptoids, 19 or polysiloxanes, 20 has been developed using robust, efficient and orthogonal synthetic approaches.…”