Abstract
Polymeric materials containing quaternary ammonium and/or phosphonium salts have been extensively studied and applied to a variety of antimicrobial-relevant areas. With various architectures, polymeric quaternary ammonium/phosphonium salts were prepared using different approaches, exhibiting different antimicrobial activities and potential applications. This review focuses on the state of the art of antimicrobial polymers with quaternary ammonium/phosphonium salts. In particular, it discusses the structure and synthesis method, mechanisms of antimicrobial action, and the comparison of antimicrobial performance between these two kinds of polymers.
Highlights
Microbial pathogens, which can cause infections and diseases in animals, plants, and human beings, have long been a threat to human health and social development
The preparation of pyridinium functionalized polynorbornene with an ethyl pendant group was conducted using two different methods, i.e., direct-polymerization and post-quaternization, and polynorbornenes with 100% and 85% of quaternization degrees were obtained, respectively. By evaluation of their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and hemolytic activity against fresh human red blood cells, it was found that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of both samples were 200 μg/mL while the latter one was twice as hemolytic as the former one
There is still a high demand for developing antimicrobial materials aimed at multi-species pathogenic microbes including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, prions and viruses, etc
Summary
Microbial pathogens, which can cause infections and diseases in animals, plants, and human beings, have long been a threat to human health and social development. The preparation of pyridinium functionalized polynorbornene with an ethyl pendant group was conducted using two different methods, i.e., direct-polymerization and post-quaternization, and polynorbornenes with 100% and 85% of quaternization degrees were obtained, respectively By evaluation of their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and hemolytic activity against fresh human red blood cells, it was found that the MICs of both samples were 200 μg/mL while the latter one was twice as hemolytic as the former one. Cationic polymers containing positive nitrogens/phosphors in the backbone, known as ionene polymers, possess antimicrobial properties due to the biocidal QAS/QPS within the main chain [69,70,71]. (b) Polyethyleneimine (PEI)-based ionenes for preparation of dental composites, adapted with permission from [78]; (c) Alkyloxyethylammonium ionenes, adapted with permission from [86]
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