Interfacially polymerized and characterized electroactive Poly(3-chloroaniline) and Poly(3-chloroaniline)-nanocomposite-NiFe2O4 for antimicrobial studies

Abstract

In recent years, the conducting substituted polyanilines have been developed by many researchers as well as engineering community so that the drawbacks or defects of a particular polymer can be overcome by preparing substituted polymer/blends/composites. The poly(3-chloroaniline) and poly(3-chloroaniline)-nanocomposite-NiFe2O4 were synthesized by interfacial polymerization technique. The FTIR and XRD techniques revealed an interaction between poly(3-chloroaniline) and NiFe2O4 particles. The thermal stability was studied by TGA and DSC. The electrical conductivity values of poly(3-chloroaniline) and poly(3-chloroaniline)-nanocomposite-NiFe2O4 were determined from Nyquist plots and found to be 5.8x10-3 Scm−1 and 4.90x10-5Scm−1 respectively. The morphology of the nanocomposite was studied by SEM and the elemental composition was determined by EDAX. The antimicrobial activities against bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis and fungal strains such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus were studied using agar well diffusion method. The poly(3-chloroaniline) and poly(3-chloroaniline)-nanocomposite-NiFe2O4 showed good activity against Staphylococcus aureus and moderate activity against Bacillus subtilis, and Escherichia coli. Poly(3-chloroaniline) exhibited excellent activity against Aspergillus flavus and moderate activity against Aspergillus niger. Poly(3-chloroaniline)-nanocomposite-NiFe2O4 had good activity against Aspergillus niger and moderate activity against Aspergillus flavus. Poly(3-chloroaniline)-nanocomposite-NiFe2O4 showed better antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger when compared to poly(3-chloroaniline). Poly(3-chloroaniline) has better activity against Aspergillus flavus than the nanocomposite.The redox activity with synergistic bactericidal effect of chlorine and chlorosubstituted polyaniline enhances the biodegradability and biocompatibility leading to functional application as antibacterial agents in biomedicine.