Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Biopolymers Modified with Ionic Liquid and Laponite

In the present study, the antimicrobial properties of modified biopolymers such as gelatin and agar have been investigated. These biopolymers (agar and gelatin) are modified by dissolving in ionic liquid (IL) [1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C2mim][Cl]) and 1-octyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([C8mim][Cl])] solutions. It was noticed that agar-ionogel (Ag-IL), gelatin-ionogel (GB-IL), and gelatin organogel (gelatin-glycerol solution along with laponite, nanoclay) nanocomposite (GA-NC) formed are highly stable, optically clear, and transparent without any air bubbles. The antimicrobial activity of these (Ag-IL), (GB-IL), and GA-NC were analyzed for both gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and gram-positive bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pyogenes) and fungus A. niger, C. albicans. Antibacterial and antifungal activity studies were carried out at different dilutions such as 100, 99, and 90 % (v/v). It was found that Ag-IL, GB-IL, and individual IL ([C8mim][Cl]) exhibited superior antimicrobial activities, indicating that longer IL chain enhance the cell membrane permeability of S. aureus, S. pyogenes, and E. coli cells. However, GA-NC nanocomposite and [C2mim][Cl]-based composites does not exhibit any bacterial inhibition activity for all bacterial strains.