Contact-active antibacterial polyethylene foils via atmospheric air plasma induced polymerisation of quaternary ammonium salts.

Contact-active antibacterial polyethylene foils via atmospheric air plasma induced polymerisation of quaternary ammonium salts. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2019 Nov 30;186:110679 Authors: Kliewer S, Wicha SG, Bröker A, Naundorf T, Catmadim T, Oellingrath EK, Rohnke M, Streit WR, Vollstedt C, Kipphardt H, Maison W Abstract Polyethylene (PE) foils were modified with potent contact-active antibacterial quaternary ammonium salts (QAS) by an atmospheric air plasma activation step, followed by graft-polymerisation of vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride (VBTAC) monomers. The presented approach uses a cost efficient air plasma activation and subsequent radical polymerisation in highly concentrated aqueous monomer solutions to generate efficient antibacterial materials. The obtained contact-active poly-VBTAC modified PE foils feature a homogeneous and 300 nm thick polymer layer with a high charge density of approximately 1016 N+/cm2. The antibacterial properties were evaluated against Gram-negative (P. aeruginosa, E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus, S. epidermidis) bacteria. The materials showed strong antibacterial activity by eradicating all the inoculated bacteria with bacterial challenges of 104 to 105 CFU/cm2 and good reductions even at maximum challenge (108 CFU/cm2). We have confirmed contact-activity by an agar diffusion assay. The obtained materials are therefore highly attractive for applications, for example, in packaging ...
Source: Colloids and Surfaces - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces Source Type: research