Co-doped polyaniline composites for biological application: Morphological, functional, optical and antibacterial activities

Abstract

In the present work, we have successfully synthesized co-doped polyaniline (PANI) composites with various organic acids DBSA, phthalic acid, oxalic acid and Calotropis proceralatex using a simple chemical oxidative polymerization method. The structural, optical, surface morphology and antibacterial analyses were carried out for the synthesized PANI (DBSA-Phthalic acid), PANI (DBSA-Oxalic acid) and PANI (DBSA-C.Procera latex) composites. The structural characterization using XRD and FT-IR measurements confirmed the formation of emeraldine salt form of PANI from the observed characteristic peaks of PANI in all the composites. The observed UV–visible absorption and PL emission peaks also assured the synthesis of PANI in emeraldine form. SEM micrographs of PANI (DBSA-phthalic acid) composites exhibited continuous rock-like agglomerated structure. The antibacterial activity tested against medically important bacteria Bacillus subtilisrevealed a maximum inhibition zone for the DBSA-phthalic acid doped PANI composites when compared with other composites. The average value of zone of inhibition for the PANI composites is found to be 21–24 nm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is found to be 1 mg/L for all the PANI composites whereas the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) is found to be 60 mg/L for PANI (DBSA-Phthalic acid) and 80 mg/L for PANI (DBSA-Oxalic acid), PANI (DBSA-C.Procera latex) composites. A larger and clear zone of inhibition exhibited by the synthesized co-doped PANI composites confirms their potential as an effective antibacterial agent.