Dual antibacterial/antiviral performance of ZIFs for highly contaminated sanitary surfaces

Abstract

Effective antimicrobial activity on highly contaminated surfaces, like in sanitary, requires the development of novel functional nanomaterials. In this work, we synthesized zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs, 7 and 8) and validated their dual antibacterial/antiviral activity for real applications in sanitary. ZIF-7 and ZIF-8 presented the polygonal morphology associated with the organic ligand arrangement with a crystalline sodalite conformation, and significant surface area (SA) differences were found (38 vs. 1456 m2/g) and associated with particle agglomeration in ZIF-7. The in-vitro antibacterial performance indicated that the high SA of ZIF-8 enabled activity at early and late interaction stages promoted by the controlled Zn ion release in solution. Similarly, ZIF-8 induces the HSV1 virus inactivation during the host infection, demonstrating a high antiviral performance (ca. 96 %). This was also validated when depositing onto flush buttons and door handles in a sanitary.