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Updated: Oct 6, 2025

High-throughput Identification of Bacteria Repellent Polymers for Medical Devices
Published on: November 5, 2016
UV-Curable Surface-Attached Antimicrobial Polymeric Onium Coatings: Designing Effective, Solvent-Resistant Coatings
Rachel L Shum1, Siobhan R Liu1, Alexander Caschera1
1Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3.
Abstract:
Contact-active ammonium and phosphonium antimicrobial polymeric coatings grafted to plastic surfaces by UV treatment are described. Robust, antimicrobial styrenic polymeric scaffolds copolymerized with a low loading of UV-curable benzophenone were prepared by nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP). Similar reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT)-controlled radical polymerizations were attempted for comparison. These random styrenics were further functionalized into partially quaternarized water-soluble cationic polymers. UV-cured polymeric thin film coatings possessing cationic groups with n-alkyl substituents of n ≤ 2 demonstrate antimicrobial properties against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, while species containing bulkier or longer substituents were biologically inactive. The UV-cured cationic antimicrobial polymeric onium thin films also demonstrate enhanced abrasion and chemical resistance.
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