Immobilization of Amphiphilic Polycations by Catechol Functionality for Antimicrobial Coatings

A new strategy for preparing antimicrobial surfaces by a simple dip-coating procedure is reported. Amphiphilic polycations with different mole ratios of monomers containing dodecyl quaternary ammonium, methoxyethyl, and catechol groups were synthesized by free-radical polymerization. The polymer coatings were prepared by immersing glass slides into a polymer solution and subsequent drying and heating. The quaternary ammonium side chains endow the coatings with potent antibacterial activity, the methoxyethyl side chains enable tuning the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance, and the catachol groups promote immobilization of the polymers into films. The polymer-coated surfaces displayed bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in a dynamic contact assay and prevented the accumulation of viable E. coli, S. aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii for up to 96 h. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of coating surfaces indicated that the surfaces exhibit virtually the same smoothness for...