Antimicrobial resistance of clay polymer nanocomposites

Antimicrobial-resistant polymeric Na+-bentonite nanocomposites were prepared by treating Na+-bentonite (Na+-Bent) with polymeric ultra-thin films of poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinylidene chloride) (PVDC) by admicellar polymerization technique. The clay polymer nanocomposites (CPNs) were characterized by several techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In additional, the antimicrobial resistance was studied by measuring the diameter of inhibition zone of growths of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The results showed an inhibitory effect of these CPN against microbial growth in inoculated samples. The CPN exhibited efficacy in the inhibition of bacterial growth. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.