Bioactive aniline copolymers

Abstract

Aniline copolymers and the synthesis thereof for use as antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal or antiviral material) material of for the manufacture of antimicrobial objects, suitable for use in the health, food, packaging, water, paint, wood, textile, poultry, glass, paper, rubber, ceramic, seafood, sports, plastic and agricultural industries. The copolymer may be for example (A): where for example R3=H5—CO2H, —CO2Me, or —CO2Et. R is typically H or a C1-C6 alkyl, x is an integer between 1 and 0 and m indicates the degree of polymerisation. Preferred copolymers are copolymers of aniline with 3-aminobenzoic acid, 2-aminobenzoic acid and ethyl 3-aminobenzoate.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to polyaniline copolymers and the use of polyaniline copolymers as antimicrobial agents and more particularly as antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral agents.[0002]The invention has been developed primarily for preventing bacterial and / or fungal and / or virus growth on a surface and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.[0004]The general structure of polyanilines (PANIs) is known. However, up until now, polyanilines have not been widely exploited in technological applications due to the poor processability of polyaniline, which is largely a function of its low solubilit...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]It has been discovered by the present inventors that copolymers of aniline with substituted anilines have a fast inhibitory effect on microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria, when present in

Problems solved by technology

However, up until now, polyanilines have not been widely exploited in technological applications due to the poor processability of polyaniline, which is largely a function of its low solubility in common solvents and its poor miscibility with other polymers (H. Salavagione et al., Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol. 42, 5587-5599 (2004)).

The use of HFP also has significant cost disadvantages due to its relative expense.

The films contained low quantities (1-10 wt %) of PANI relative to the amount of polyvinyl alcohol or polyethylene used, which is indicative of the processability problems that would prohibit higher amounts of PANI being used.

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