Deaths from bacterial infections are on the rise as more species of bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. Because of this, it is my long-term goal to design a novel polymer that contains quaternized amines and displays antibiotic activity. Polymers are versatile molecules that can be engineered to contain select physical or structural characteristics. This has led to several studies finding that polymers containing amines, particularly quaternized amines display strong antimicrobial properties. Quaternization has been observed to occur with multiple chemical quaternizing agents under a range of environments. During this research I will investigate if a quaternized amine containing polymer that displays antibiotic activity can be synthesized from N-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide and Methyl Methacrylate. Both of these monomers are commercially available, react readily, and N-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide has a tertiary amine similar to one found to be selectively attacked by benzyl chloride. The proposed research has three main phases: phase 1 aims to synthesize polymers using N-[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide and Methyl Methacrylate using radical polymerization in an organic environment. The resulting polymers will be characterized by NMR spectroscopy to determine their compositions. The second phase aims to modify the synthesized polymers by dissolving them in an organic environment and allowing benzyl chloride to quaternize the tertiary amine. The result of this reaction will be characterized by H1 NMR spectroscopy to ensure successful quaternization. The third phase aims to determine if antimicrobial activity is present by placing the polymers in growth media and observing for areas of inhibition. Through the completion of these reactions and spectroscopy, the I will be able to determine if a polymer was successfully made and modified, as well as if it displays antimicrobial activity.

Investigation of the antimicrobial activity of quaternized ammonium containing polymer chains

255th National Meeting (2018)

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