Investigation of Antimicrobial Properties of QASs⁺ (Novel Synthesis)

Abstract

Quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) are bioactive materials known for their antimicrobial effects. However, it is difficult to provide desirable quaternary ammonium salts. Thus, firstly new quarternary ammonium salts which are not in the literature were synthesized and organoclays were prepared with different quarternary ammonium salts content. The organoclays included quaternary ammonium salts such as N,N-di (3-methyl butyl)-N-(1-phenylethyl)-N-methyl ammonium Iodide (QAS-1), N,N-dipentil-N-(1-phenylethyl)-N-methyl ammonium Iodide (QAS-2), and N,N-dihexcyl-N-(1-phenylethyl)-N-methyl ammonium Iodide (QAS-3) which were newly synthesized for modification of Na⁺-montmorillonite (Na⁺-Mt) and were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Synthesized organoclays were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Characterization results proved that the modification is performed with high performance and as seen in the XRD results, the interstratum distances increased considerably and the diffraction angles decreased. The antimicrobial activity of the organoclays against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were studied in detail and were obtained much larger inhibition zones than similar studies. QAS-3-Mt organoclay showed the maximum of antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. As is known, organoclay comes among the fillers that play the most effective role in the synthesis of composite materials. In this context, the product we have synthesized is unique and can be used for many purposes.