Grafting of Poly[2-(tert-butylamino)ethyl methacrylate] onto Polypropylene by Reactive Blending and Antibacterial Activity of the Copolymer

• Published in: Biomacromolecules Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 1171 - 1177
• Main Authors: Thomassin, Jean-Michel, Lenoir, Sandrine, Riga, Johan, Jérôme, Robert, Detrembleur, Christophe
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.04.2007; Amer Chemical Soc
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; antimicrobial polymer; Applied sciences; Azides - chemistry; Chemical modifications; Chemical reactions and properties; Chemistry; Chimie; coating; Engineering, computing & technology; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Exact sciences and technology; Ingénierie, informatique & technologie; Materials science & engineering; Methacrylates - chemistry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission - methods; Molecular Structure; nanostructured material; Organic polymers; Particle Size; Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences; Physicochemistry of polymers; Physique, chimie, mathématiques & sciences de la terre; Polymers - chemical synthesis; Polymers - chemistry; Polymers - pharmacology; Polypropylenes - chemistry; reactive blend; Science des matériaux & ingénierie; Sensitivity and Specificity; Structure-Activity Relationship; Surface Properties; Biological properties; 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition; Methacrylate polymer; Propylene copolymer; Acetylenic compound; Graft copolymer; Amino group; End group; Atom transfer polymerization; Synthetic fiber; Heterogeneous mixture; Amine copolymer; Functional group; Polymer blends; Propylene polymer; Experimental study; Functional polymer; Bactericidal effect; Chemical coupling; Chemical modification; Amine polymer; Imidation; Preparation; Methacrylate copolymer; Growth from melt; Antibacterial agent; Primary amine
• ISSN: 1525-7797; 1526-4602; 1526-4602
• DOI: 10.1021/bm0611228

To combine low cost, good mechanical properties, and antibacterial activity in one material, a nonquaternized polymeric biocide, i.e., poly[2-(tert-butylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PTBAEMA), was dispersed within a commodity plastic, i.e., polypropylene (PP). The high immiscibility of the two polymers was tackled by reactive compatibilization and thus by reaction of commercially available maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene with primary amine-end-capped PTBAEMA. This reactive polymethacrylate was synthesized by atom-transfer radical polymerization with an azide-containing initiator. The azide end group was converted into a primary amine by the Huisgen [3 + 2] cycloaddition of propargylamine. The accordingly formed PP-g-PTBAEMA copolymer was melt dispersed within neat PP and processed as fibers, whose antimicrobial properties were assessed by the viable cell counting method against Escherichia coli. The antibacterial activity was long-lasting as a result of the anchoring of the PTBAEMA chains onto PP, which prevented them from being released from the surface of the fibers.