Antimicrobial activity of a monomer and its polymer based on quinolone

An acryl monomer containing the quinolone moiety was synthesized and then polymerized with azobisisobutyronitrile in a dimethylformamide solution. The resulting polymer as well as the corresponding monomer exhibited an excellent antibacterial activity. The poly(acry-lated quinolone) (PQ) was compounded with other ordinary synthetic polymers such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), maleated polypropylene (PPMA), and polycaprolactone (PCL). The polymer blends reduced the viable cell number significantly on contact during the shake flask test even when the PQ content was as low as 1 wt %. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1797-1801, 2003.