Bacterial adhesion inhibition of the quaternary ammonium functionalized silica nanoparticles

Quaternary ammonium compounds have been considered as excellent antibacterial agents due to their effective biocidal activity, long term durability and environmentally friendly performance. In this work, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyldimethyloctadecylammonium chloride as a quaternary ammonium silane was applied for the surface modification of silica nanoparticles. The quaternary ammonium silane provided silica surface with hydrophobicity and antibacterial properties. In addition, the glass surface which was coated with the surface modified silica nanoparticles presented bacterial growth inhibition activity. For comparison of bacterial growth resistance, hydrophobic silane (alkyl functionalized silane) modified silica nanoparticles and pristine silica nanoparticles were prepared. As a result of bacterial adhesion test, the quaternary ammonium functionalized silica nanoparticles exhibited the enhanced inhibition performance against growth of Gram-negative Escherichia coli (96.6%), Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (98.5%) and Deinococcus geothermalis (99.6%) compared to pristine silica nanoparticles. These bacteria resistances also were stronger than that of hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles. It could be explained that the improved bacteria inhibition performance originated from the synergistic effect of hydrophobicity and antibacterial property of quaternary ammonium silane. Additionally, the antimicrobial efficacy of the fabricated nanoparticles increased with decreasing size of the nanoparticles.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ QAS provides the hydrophobicity and biocidal property to the silica NPs. ▶ QAS-modified silica NPs present antibacterial activity. ▶ QAS-modified silica NPs coated glass inhibits bacterial growth on its surface. ▶ Biocidal performance of the QAS-modified silica NPs depend on the size of the NPs.