Abstract
Polystyrene (PS) was blended with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and silver sulfadiazine (SS) with different weight proportions to form polymeric blends. These synthesized blends were preliminary characterized in terms of functional groups through the FTIR technique. All compositions were subjected to thermogravimetric analysis for studying thermal transition and were founded thermally stable even at 280°C. The zeta potential and average diameter of algal strains of Dictyosphaerium sp. (DHM1), Dictyosphaerium sp. (DHM2), and Pectinodesmus sp. (PHM3) were measured to be -32.7 mV, -33.0 mV, and -25.7 mV and 179.6 nm, 102.6 nm, and 70.4 nm, respectively. Upon incorporation of PEG and SS into PS blends, contact angles were decreased while hydrophilicity and surface energy were increased. However, increase of surface energy did not led to decrease of antialgal activities. This has indicated that biofilm adhesion is not a major antialgal factor in these blended materials. The synergetic effect of PEG and SS in PS blends has exhibited significant antialgal activity via the agar disk diffusion method. The PSPS10 composition with 10 w / w % PEG and 10 w / w % SS has exhibited highest inhibition zones 10.8 mm, 10.8 mm, and 11.3 mm against algal strains DHM1, DHM2, and DHM3, respectively. This thermally stable polystyrene blends with improved antialgal properties have potential for a wide range of applications including marine coatings.
Highlights
Biofouling is an undesired build-up of biotic deposits on a material’s surface
Resultant blends formed by varying the amounts of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and silver sulfadiazine (SS) were characterized by different spectroscopic techniques, and their antifouling potential was ascertaining by antialgal assay
The antialgal synergistic potential of polystyrene blends with polyethylene glycol and silver sulfadiazine is revealed in this work
Summary
Biofouling is an undesired build-up of biotic deposits on a material’s surface. This biotic deposit includes different species such as cyanobacteria, algal spores, fungi, and macroalgae [1]. Microbial growth can be inhibited by different types of materials like nanocomposite, polymer composites, and polymeric systems [5]. Among these materials, polymer-based systems are the best antimicrobial materials and have numerous advantages over conventional materials with exceptional film-forming ability, suitable chemical activity, thermal stability, mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and low cost [6]. 3sulfopropylmethacrylate was copolymerized with methyl methacrylate that only controls the adhesion of Dictyosphaerium algae but did not kill the algal cells [14] These literature studies have indicated that the most polymeric systems could significantly inhibit bacterial species but could not be used effectively against algal species.
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