CHAPTER 3. Synthesis, Antimicrobial Activity and Applications of Polymers with Ammonium and Phosphonium Groups

Microbial infection remains one of the most serious complications in several areas. Antimicrobials gain interest from both academic research and industry due to their potential to provide quality and safety benefits to many materials. Quaternary ammonium and phosphonium compounds are some of the most widely used antimicrobial agents for various medical applications due to their low toxicity and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. However, low molecular weight antimicrobial agents suffer from many disadvantages, such as toxicity to the environment and short-term antimicrobial ability. To overcome the problems associated with the low molecular weight antimicrobial agents, antimicrobial functional groups can be introduced into polymer molecules. This chapter particularly discusses the synthesis of antimicrobial polymers with quaternary ammonium and phosphonium groups, discussing their antimicrobial activities, and major fields of applications.