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Comparison of antimicrobial activities of polyacrylonitrile fibers modified with quaternary phosphonium salts having different alkyl chain lengths
Author(s) -
Chang Li,
Wang Jing,
Tong Chunyi,
Zhao Liang,
Liu Xuanming
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.43689
Subject(s) - phosphonium , alkyl , antimicrobial , polyacrylonitrile , candida albicans , chemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , polymer
A series of polyacrylonitrile fibers (PANF) modified with quaternary phosphonium salts having various alkyl chain lengths (C 1 , C 2 , C 6 , C 8 , C 12 ) were synthesized and compared for their antimicrobial activities by the improved shake flask method. The as‐prepared fibers were named MTPB‐PANF, ETPB‐PANF, HTPB‐PANF, OTPB‐PANF, and DTPB‐PANF, respectively. The representative microorganisms employed were Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) , Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) , Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ), and Candida albicans ( C. albicans ). Results from the current study showed that the alkyl chain length of quaternary phosphonium salts not only affected the synthesis of the fibers, but also impacted their antimicrobial activities. There was a rule that the longer the alkyl chain length, the more easily the quaternary phosphonium salts modify the fibers and the better the antimicrobial activities of the modified fibers. All the modified fibers exhibited good broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activities. Specifically, DTPB‐PANF exhibited an outstandingly high antimicrobial activity, which was nearly unaffected by the environmental pH (3–10). It can kill all the four pathogens in 15 min and had an excellent wash‐resistant property. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43689.