Novel biocidal N-halamine plastic based on poly(vinyl chloride): Preparation and characteristics Marta Chylin ´ ska a , Halina Kaczmarek a, *, Aleksandra Burkowska-But b , Maciej Walczak b a Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Photochemistry of Polymers, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun ´, Gagarina 7, 87-100 Torun ´, Poland b Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Environment Microbiology and Biotechnology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun ´, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Torun ´, Poland Introduction The term ‘‘biocidal properties’’ means the ability of substance to kill bacteria, viruses, protozoa, algae, fungi, and other pathogens. Microorganisms dangerous for human life live in everyday products. Pathogens can exist in various surroundings for a long time without triggering any reactions. For example, Gram-negative bacteria, living on clothes of hospital staff can survive from 1 h to 90 days, and fungi—from one day to several weeks [1,2]. In appropriate humidity and temperature, they may cause an infection of an organism with reduced resistance. This is especially dangerous in hospitals, medical clinics and surgeries. Even careful cleaning or disinfection insufficiently reduces the number of bacteria, thus, it is not sufficient to prevent infection. Many medical devices and articles of daily use that need improved sterility are made of plastic. For these reasons, in the past two decades, much attention has been devoted to polymeric materials with biocidal properties. It was proved that addition of biocides to polymer, even at low concentrations (from 0.1 to 3%), provides effective protection. Their small amount will only slightly increase the cost of previously manufactured products as well as make them safe and innovative. Biocidal activity of N-halamines was known already in the 1970s [3], but their use is negligible so far. N-halamines are amorphous water-insoluble solids, containing at least one covalent bond between N–X, where the halogen atom (X) occurs in the +1 oxidation state. These compounds exhibit biocidal properties for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as in relation to fungi and viruses. Their ability to destroy microorgan- isms is transferred to matrix material, eliminating the common microbes in just a few seconds [4]. The heterocyclic hydantoins, containing N–Cl bonds, are the most often used derivatives for modification of polymeric materials. They are characterized by the best biocidal properties in relation to other compounds. This is the result of presence of two nitrogen atoms able to create N-halamine bonds [5]. Spir- ohydantoins are also an attractive group of hydantoin. They exhibit exceptional biological activity, interesting molecule geometry, and in addition may be used as anti-inflammatory agents [6]. Despite the fact that many publications on N-halamine materials can be found, only a handful of them apply to practical study leading to introduction of a product or technology on the market [7,8]. Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) belongs to the ‘‘big five’’ of polymers which have large share in the total plastic production and it is still Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry xxx (2015) xxx–xxx A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 22 September 2014 Received in revised form 20 January 2015 Accepted 7 February 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Poly(vinyl chloride) N-halamine Hydantoin Biocidal activity Thermal properties A B S T R A C T Preparation method of new biocidal plastics based on plasticized PVC has been elaborated. The derivative of poly(4-vinylbenzyl chloride) containing N-halamine substituents has been mixed with PVC granules and processed by dry blend extrusion and injection moulding. The properties of obtained material have been tested using SEM/EDX and thermogravimetry. The biocidal efficacy of modified PVC resin has been tested against two strains of bacteria: Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive). It was found that even small amount of biocidal component yields to efficient biocidal activity of the whole plastic. Chemical composition and other properties of PVC remain almost unchanged. ß 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 56 611 4312; fax: +48 56 654 24 77. E-mail address: halina@chem.umk.pl (H. Kaczmarek). G Model JIEC-2413; No. of Pages 7 Please cite this article in press as: M. Chylin ´ ska, et al., J. Ind. Eng. Chem. (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2015.02.007 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry jou r n al h o mep ag e: w ww .elsevier .co m /loc ate/jiec http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2015.02.007 1226-086X/ß 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.