Antimicrobial activity of polysiloxane coatings containing quaternary ammonium-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

An array of quaternary ammonium functionalized-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (Q-POSS) compounds with different alkyl chain lengths and counter ions were synthesized using a two-step process. First, octasilane POSS was functionalized with dimethylamino groups by hydrosilylation with allyldimethylamine. Next, partial quaternization of the tertiaryamino-functional POSS was achieved using an alkyl halide to produce the Q-POSS. Alkyl chain length of the Q-POSS compounds varied from –C₁₂H₂₅ to –C₁₈H₃₇ and the counter ions varied between chlorine, bromine, and iodine. Moisture-cured polysiloxane coatings were prepared by dispersing Q-POSS molecules into a solution blend of silanol-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, methylacetoxysilane, and a catalyst. To evaluate the utility of the Q-POSS molecules as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial additive, the antimicrobial activity of the coatings toward the Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, the Gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, and the opportunistic fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, was determined using an agar plating method. The results obtained showed that both the composition of the Q-POSS and the composition of the polysiloxane matrix affected antimicrobial properties. Compositions were identified that inhibited the growth of all three microorganisms on the coating surface. Surface Raman spectroscopic analysis was performed on selected set of coatings to understand the relative concentration of Q-POSS molecules at the coating surface.