Langmuir 2006-12-19

Surfaces of fluorinated pyridinium block copolymers with enhanced antibacterial activity.

Sitaraman Krishnan, Rebekah J Ward, Alexander Hexemer, Karen E Sohn, Kristen L Lee, Esther R Angert, Daniel A Fischer, Edward J Kramer, Christopher K Ober

Index: Langmuir 22(26) , 11255-66, (2006)

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Abstract

Polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) copolymers were quaternized with 1-bromohexane and 6-perfluorooctyl-1-bromohexane. Surfaces prepared from these polymers were characterized by contact angle measurements, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The fluorinated pyridinium surfaces showed enhanced antibacterial activity compared to their nonfluorinated counterparts. Even a polymer with a relatively low molecular weight pyridinium block showed high antimicrobial activity. The bactericidal effect was found to be related to the molecular composition and organization in the top 2-3 nm of the surface and increased with increasing hydrophilicity and pyridinium concentration of the surface.