Antibacterial PLA Fibers Containing Thiazolium Groups as Wound Dressing Materials

Abstract

The development of inherent antimicrobial polymeric fibers can contribute to overcome the increasing problem of infectious diseases and multi-resistant microorganisms. Here, we propose the preparation of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based electrospun fibers blended with poly[2-(4-methylthiazol-5-yl)ethyl methacrylate] (PMTA), which quaternized has proven broad spectrum antimicrobial activity either in solution or solid state. We have demonstrated that quaternized PLA/PMTA fiber mats have a remarkable antibacterial activity against S. aureus. As determined by SEM and RAMAN, quaternized PMTA segregates toward the outmost surface of PLA/PMTA fiber leaving the thiazolium group widely available onto the fiber surfaces, facilitating the bacteria killing by contact mode.