Antimicrobial activities of synthetic water-soluble ethylenediamine-epichlorohydrin-based oligomers

Abstract

In this study, two-step simple method was employed to synthesize new oligomers with significant antibacterial activity. The interaction of ethylenediamine with epichlorohydrin produced ethylenediamine-epichlorohydrin oligomer (EEO), which is subsequently modified by 2,4,5-trichlorophenol to generate ethylenediamineepichlorohydrin-trichlorophenol oligomer (EETO). Infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analyses were used to characterize the oligomers. The amine group and C-Cl peak in the EEO and EETO spectra were both validated by the characterization data, respectively. EEO showed substantial antibacterial activity against S. aureus (1x10(7), 1x10(5), and 1x10(3) CFU/mL) with a minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of 1250 g/mL at all concentrations. With the same concentrations, EETO demonstrated 156, 39, and 9.77 g/mL, respectively. Furthermore, in a well diffusion assay with the same microorganisms, EEO and EETO had diameters of 20 and 30 mm. Furthermore, stem cells were used to conduct a cytotoxicity test on EETO, which revealed that the compound is harmless to cells up to 10 g/mL. Both oligomers are promising antibacterial materials for liquid toilet cleaners or hospital disinfectants due to their water-soluble nature. [GRAPHICS] .