Ionic liquid based antimicrobial coating on polymeric surface: A green chemistry approach

Abstract

A sustainable and green method to impart antimicrobial properties to materials or devices made of Poly (propylene) (PP) is of great interest to many in academia and the industry. Herein, we demonstrate a simple strategy to impart antimicrobial property to PP filter materials by interfacial self-assembly of an ionic liquid (IL), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide (HMIMI). HMIMI was found to have a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 8.5 mM against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 465 mM. Self-assembly of HMIMI over PP was found to prevent the adhesion of E. coli, which was illustrated by Agar diffusion assay, Confocal Raman Microscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The green strategy employed here would be helpful to generate cost-effective antimicrobial surfaces for various biomedical applications.

Keywords

• Poly(propylene)
• Surface modification
• Ionic liquids
• Raman imaging
• Interfacial assembly