TY - JOUR
T1 - Antimicrobial Efficacy of a Vegetable Oil Plasticizer in PVC Matrices
AU - Bajetto, Greta
AU - Scutera, Sara
AU - Menotti, Francesca
AU - Banche, Giuliana
AU - Chiaradia, Giuseppe
AU - Turesso, Caterina
AU - De Andrea, Marco
AU - Vallino, Marta
AU - van Es, Daan
AU - Biolatti, Matteo
AU - Dell’Oste, Valentina
AU - Musso, Tiziana
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - The growing prevalence of bacterial and viral infections, highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, urgently calls for new antimicrobial strategies. To this end, we have synthesized and characterized a novel fatty acid epoxy-ester plasticizer for polymers, named GDE. GDE is not only sustainable and user-friendly but also demonstrates superior plasticizing properties, while its epoxy components improve the heat stability of PVC-based matrices. A key feature of GDE is its ability to confer antimicrobial properties to surfaces. Indeed, upon contact, this material can effectively kill enveloped viruses, such as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and the β-coronavirus prototype HCoV-OC43, but it is ineffective against nonenveloped viruses like human adenovirus (HAdV). Further analysis using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on HSV-1 virions exposed to GDE showed significant structural damage, indicating that GDE can interfere with the viral envelope, potentially causing leakage. Moreover, GDE demonstrates antibacterial activity, albeit to a lesser extent, against notorious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Overall, this newly developed plasticizer shows significant potential as an antimicrobial agent suitable for use in both community and healthcare settings to curb the spread of infections caused by microorganisms contaminating physical surfaces.
AB - The growing prevalence of bacterial and viral infections, highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, urgently calls for new antimicrobial strategies. To this end, we have synthesized and characterized a novel fatty acid epoxy-ester plasticizer for polymers, named GDE. GDE is not only sustainable and user-friendly but also demonstrates superior plasticizing properties, while its epoxy components improve the heat stability of PVC-based matrices. A key feature of GDE is its ability to confer antimicrobial properties to surfaces. Indeed, upon contact, this material can effectively kill enveloped viruses, such as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and the β-coronavirus prototype HCoV-OC43, but it is ineffective against nonenveloped viruses like human adenovirus (HAdV). Further analysis using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on HSV-1 virions exposed to GDE showed significant structural damage, indicating that GDE can interfere with the viral envelope, potentially causing leakage. Moreover, GDE demonstrates antibacterial activity, albeit to a lesser extent, against notorious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Overall, this newly developed plasticizer shows significant potential as an antimicrobial agent suitable for use in both community and healthcare settings to curb the spread of infections caused by microorganisms contaminating physical surfaces.
KW - antiviral and antibacterial polymers
KW - biomaterials
KW - medical devices
KW - plasticizers
KW - polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
KW - vegetable oils
U2 - 10.3390/polym16081046
DO - 10.3390/polym16081046
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85191373794
SN - 2073-4360
VL - 16
JO - Polymers
JF - Polymers
IS - 8
M1 - 1046
ER -