Preparation and application research of surface thin-layer transparent antibacterial PMMA via bulk polymerization

The growing use of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) in medical devices and food contact materials demands low‑toxicity antibacterial agents and compatible preparation methods. Current technologies struggle to prevent agent migration without sacrificing optical transparency and contact safety, limiting their adoption in busy public areas such as hospitals and schools. Herein, a hydrophilic natural antibacterial compound was hydrophobically modified by grafting unsaturated aliphatic chains and then used to fabricate a surface thin‑layer antibacterial PMMA via UV curing. The resulting material showed strong activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) , with minimum bactericidal concentrations of 4 mg/g and 32 mg/g respectively. It maintained a high optical transmittance above 92% and exhibited no detectable leaching of the antibacterial agent. Physical, thermomechanical, and wear‑resistant evaluations revealed a 2 °C higher heat deflection temperature for the antibacterial PMMA compared to the control, with all other properties comparable. The material also shows promise for managing indoor photothermal environments by filtering harmful ultraviolet and blue light spectra. This work provides a feasible pathway for developing high‑performance antibacterial PMMA. Download: Download high-res image (137KB) Download: Download full-size image