Antimicrobial activity of silver composites obtained from crosslinked polystyrene with polyHIPE structures

Abstract The literature reports several potential applications of polymers prepared with high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). However, the evaluation of these materials as supports for antimicrobial agents has not been explored. In this work, silver composites based on polyHIPEs were prepared. Initial studies indicated that these materials can be efficient to prevent biofilm formation. The silver composites were prepared in three steps. First, HIPEs based on styrene-divinylbenzene were polymerized by aqueous suspension polymerization. These particles showed surface areas of 18 and 48 m2/g. These polyHIPEs were sulfonated with concentrated sulfuric acid or acetyl sulfate and showed cation exchange capacities of 4.03 and 5.07 meq/g respectively. The sulfonated material was impregnated with silver ions, followed by reduction of the ions to prepare silver composites. These composites showed inhibition halos against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. and did not present adhesion of bacterial cells of K. variicola and S. aureus on their surface.