A “double benefit” strategy with poly(methacrylic acid-thiazole) conjugated ZIF-8 for antimicrobial and plants growth

With the accelerating green transformation of agriculture, the development of environmentally friendly and highly efficient antimicrobial materials has emerged as a critical strategy to address challenges in agricultural development. Herein, thiazole copolymer microspheres integrated with zinc-based metal-organic framework antimicrobial materials (ZIF-8@P(TMA-MA)) were successfully synthesized via coordination polymerization of thiazole copolymers and the organic ligand 2-methylimidazole (2-MIm). The resulting ZIF-8@P(TMA-MA) composite exhibited remarkable antibacterial properties, achieving a 99.9 % inhibition rate against E. coli and S. aureus within 24 h in aqueous solution, with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of 0.50 mg/mL and 1.00 mg/mL, respectively. For mycorrhizal fungi , ZIF-8@P(TMA-MA) demonstrated sustained antibacterial activity over 168 h, maintaining an antimicrobial efficacy of 99.9 %. Impressively, this exceptional performance was attributed to the synergistic interaction between the five-membered thiazole heterocycles and ZIF-8. Additionally, the application of ZIF-8@P(TMA-MA) in maize growth experiments yielded promising results, highlighting its ability to enhance plant growth. This work presents an effective antibacterial platform based on PolyMOFs, demonstrating their innovative potential applications in promoting plant growth and protecting crops from microbial damage.