Quaternization on polyetheretherketone and its antimicrobial activity

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a thermoplastic polymer with high performances, especially behaving an elastic modulus closer to that of human bone, and has been a good candidate for implants in orthopedics and trauma. But infections arising from the use of implants or the surgical site contaminant are very common in surgery. So in this study, PEEK was firstly chloromethylated to get CM-PEEK, which was separately grafted with two kinds of quaternary ammonium salts and successfully made two different antibacterial surfaces (S-PEEK and C-PEEK). The results indicate that the wettability of both surfaces was largely improved, and both S-PEEK and C-PEEK exhibited an antibacterial rate of over 98% to S. aureus and over 48% to E. coli. This study suggests that quaternization on PEEK might be an excellent method to make antibacterial biomaterials with high wettability.