Development of self-stratified antibacterial polymers via click chemistry

An azide-modified long perfluorinated tail quaternary ammonium methacrylate compound (M2) was designed and synthesized. The fluorine containing polyurethane (PU-F) with strong antibacterial properties was prepared via click reaction of M2 and a clickable polymer (PU-Al), which exhibited surface segregation. The PU-F film showed a total kill against both Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) at an M2 content around 1wt%. A disk diffusion test confirmed that the ligation efficiency of the antibacterial agents and polymer chains via click chemistry was excellent, and covalent conjugation of the QACs to the polymers prevented leaching.