Attachment of Penicillin (Gram +) and Gentamicin (Gram -) to Polypropylene Surfaces: Formation of Anti-Microbial Films

摘要

It has been shown in numerous studies that surface modifications of polymers may be beneficial and useful in achieving or altering compatibility, modifying surface energies, or surface reactivities, while maintaining useful bulk properties. For instance, elastomeric surfaces have been tailored using “mechanically assembled monolayers” which are structures that are fabricated using a combination of self-assembly of surface grafting molecules and mechanical manipulation of the grafting points on the underlying surface. Among numerous surface modifications, microwave plasma reactions have found many useful attributes and created a platform to form carboxylic acid groups on surfaces of such polymers as poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), and polyurethane (PU). While the prerequisite for further reactions is the formation of functional groups, and COOH groups are fairly versatile, it is also essential to provide adequate molecular roughness of such surfaces by attachment of a suitable spacer.