Preparation of Antimicrobial Coatings from Cross-Linked Copolymers Containing Quaternary Dodecyl-Ammonium Compounds

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2021-12, Vol.22 (24), p.13236
• Main Authors: Druvari, Denisa, Antonopoulou, Aggeliki, Lainioti, Georgia C, Vlamis-Gardikas, Alexios, Bokias, Georgios, Kallitsis, Joannis K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Acrylic acid; Ammonium; Ammonium compounds; Anti-Infective Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; antimicrobial materials; Aqueous solutions; Carbon; carboxyl groups; Coatings; Composition; Copolymers; cross-linking reaction; Crosslinking; Drug resistance; E coli; Electrostatic properties; Environmental impact; Epoxy Compounds - chemistry; epoxy groups; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Escherichia coli - growth & development; Fourier transforms; Gravimetric analysis; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Hydrophobicity; Medical equipment; Membranes; Methacrylates - chemistry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbial Viability - drug effects; Microorganisms; Molecular Structure; Molecular weight; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Organic carbon; polymeric coatings; Polymers; Quaternary ammonium compounds; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - chemical synthesis; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - chemistry; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - pharmacology; Quaternary ammonium salts; Sodium chloride; Solubility; Spectrum analysis; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - growth & development; Surface Properties; Total organic carbon
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413236

One of the concerns today's societies face is the development of resistant pathogenic microorganisms. The need to tackle this problem has driven the development of innovative antimicrobial materials capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms. The present study investigates the dependence of the antimicrobial activity and solubility properties on the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity ratio of antimicrobial coatings based on quaternary ammonium compounds. In this line, suitable hydrophilic and hydrophobic structural units were selected for synthesizing the antimicrobial copolymers poly(4-vinylbenzyl dimethyldodecylammonium chloride-co-acrylic acid), P(VBCDDA-co-AA20) and poly(dodecyltrimethylammonium 4-styrene sulfonate-co-glycidyl methacrylate), P(SSAmC -co-GMA20), bearing an alkyl chain of 12 carbons either through covalent bonding or through electrostatic interaction. The cross-linking reaction of the carboxylic group of acrylic acid (AA) with the epoxide group of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) of these two series of reactive antimicrobial copolymers was explored in blends, obtained through solution casting after curing at various temperatures. The release of the final products in pure water and NaCl 1 M solutions (as analyzed by gravimetry and total organic carbon, TOC/total nitrogen, TN analyses), could be controlled by the coating composition. The cross-linked polymeric membranes of composition 60/40 / % ratios led to 97.8 and 99.7% mortality for ( ) and ( ), respectively, whereas the coating 20/80 / % resulted in 96.6 and 99.8% cell reduction. Despite the decrease in hydrophobicity (from a 16- to a 12-carbon alkyl chain), the new materials maintained the killing efficacy, while at the same time resulting in increased release to the aqueous solution.