Preparation of magnetic nanocomposite with modified polyguanidine and its antibacterial properties

Abstract

Guanidine-based polymers are well-known strong antimicrobial agents against a wide range of microorganisms. However, the high water solubility restricted their potential applications in the field of water treatment. In this study, polyguanidine (PG) has been modified with epichlorohydrin (Ep) and then used for synthesis of nanocomposite with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The intrinsic viscosity measurements of modified product showed clearly that the viscosity increased with the increasing of Ep content. The characterization results indicated that magnetite Fe₃O₄/PG-Ep nanocomposites were successfully synthesized, with 20-30 nm particle size and high saturation magnetization, 62 emu.g⁻1. The TGA results showed that PG-Ep amount containing in the nanocomposite was about 10 % (wt.). As-prepared nanocomposite Fe₃O₄/PG-Ep demonstrated good antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and had the potential to be used in disinfection applications.