Antimicrobial activity of poly(acrylic acid) block copolymers

• Acrylic acid diblock copolymers are antimicrobially active.
• The antimicrobial activity depends on the acrylic acid content in the copolymer.
• No salts, metals or other antimicrobial agents are needed.

The increasing number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains has developed into a major health problem. In particular, biofilms are the main reason for hospital-acquired infections and diseases. Once formed, biofilms are difficult to remove as they have specific defense mechanisms against antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial surfaces must therefore kill or repel bacteria before they can settle to form a biofilm. In this study, we describe that poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) containing diblock copolymers can kill bacteria and prevent from biofilm formation. The PAA diblock copolymers with poly(styrene) and poly(methyl methacrylate) were synthesized via anionic polymerization of tert-butyl acrylate with styrene or methyl methacrylate and subsequent acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the tert-butyl ester. The copolymers were characterized via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analysis, and acid–base titrations. Copolymer films with a variety of acrylic acid contents were produced by solvent casting, characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and tested for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activity of the acidic diblock copolymers increased with increasing acrylic acid content, independent of the copolymer-partner, the chain length and the nanostructure.