Biocidal Activities: Antifouling and Antibacterial Membranes

Biocidal polymers have found numerous applications in recent years. Antifouling refers to all systems that prevent an organism from attaching to a surface. Most recently used biocidal polymer is poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which was used in antifouling (AF) and antibacterial coatings. From recent studies, it was found that the AF performance is related to the release of biocidal species. In AF coatings, PEG is used for prevention of protein fouling and self-assembled monolayers. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) is used as a smart material, which plays an important role in a diverse range of applications, which include drug delivery, biosensors, tissue engineering, coatings, and textiles. Antimicrobial ability of self-cross-linked terpolymer derived from 4-acetylpyridine oxime, formaldehyde, and acetophenone has been studied. Copper oxide, Diuron, and TiO 2 , which act as photo-activated self-cleaning agents, are useful in the study of biocidals in aquaculture.