Development of biocide coated polymers and their antimicrobial efficacy

Watson, Rowan; Maxwell, Maria; Dunn, Sophie; Brooks, Alexander; Jiang, Long; Hill, Harriet J.; Williams, Georgia; Kotowska, Anna; Nikoi, Naa Dei; Stamataki, Zania; Banzhaf, Manuel; Scurr, David; Bryant, Jack Alfred; de Cogan, Felicity

Abstract

Microbial contamination of plastic surfaces is a significant source of hospital‐acquired infections. To produce antimicrobial surfaces, chlorhexidine was attached to nitrided acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The uniformity of chlorhexidine distribution on the plastic surfaces was revealed by time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SIMS) imaging. Its antimicrobial efficacy was established against model pathogenic Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The stability of the bonded chlorhexidine was evaluated via a leaching test. The surfaces rapidly killed microbes: no viable colonies of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, or Candida albicans were recoverable after 45 minutes. It was effective against SARS‐COV‐2, with no viable virions found after 30 minutes. Additionally, the surfaces were as effective in killing chlorhexidine‐resistant strains of bacteria as they were in killing naïve strains. The surface was stable; after 2 weeks of leaching, no detectable chlorhexidine was found in the leachate. We believe that the technology is widely applicable to prevent the spread of fomite infection.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 22, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 10, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-07
• Deposit Date: Jun 22, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 27, 2023
• Journal: Nano Select
• Print ISSN: 2688-4011
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 442-453
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/nano.202300005
• Keywords: Antibacterial, Antimicrobial, C7H4N2Cl–, chlorhexidine, Coating, Surfaces
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/20828128
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nano.202300005