Study of zwitterionic sulfopropylbetaine containing reactive siloxanes for application in antibacterial materials

Antibacterial agents receive a great deal of attention around the world due to the interesting academic problems of how to combat bacteria and of the beneficial health, social and economic effects of successful agents. Scientists are actively developing new antibacterial agents for biomaterial applications. This paper reports the novel antibacterial agent siloxane sulfopropylbetaine (SSPB), which contains reactive alkoxysilane groups. The structure and properties of SSPB were systematically investigated, with the results showing that SSPB contains both quaternary ammonium compounds and reactive siloxane groups. SSPB has good antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli ( E. coli , 8099 ) and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus , ATCC 6538 ). The minimal inhibition concentration is 70   μmol/ml SSPB against both E. coli and S. aureus . In addition, the SSPB antibacterial agent can be used in both weak acid and weak alkaline environments, functioning within the wide pH range of 4.0–9.0. The SSPB-modified glass surface killed 99.96% of both S. aureus and E. coli organisms within 24   h. No significant decrease was observed in this antibacterial activity after 20 washes. Moreover, SSPB does not induce a skin reaction and is nontoxic to animals. Thus, SSPB is an ideal candidate for future applications as a safe, environmentally friendly antibacterial agent.