Octahedral molybdenum cluster as a photoactive antimicrobial additive to a fluoroplastic

Natalia A. Vorotnikova, Alexander Y. Alekseev, Yuri A. Vorotnikov, Darya V. Evtushok, Yann Molard, Maria Amela-cortes, Stéphane Cordier, Anton I. Smolentsev, Christian G. Burton, Peter M. Kozhin, Patricia Zhu, Paul D. Topham, Yuri V. Mironov, Mark Bradley, Olga A. Efremova, Michael A. Shestopalov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Finding methods that fight bacterial infection or contamination, while minimising our reliance on antibiotics is one of the most pressing needs of this century. Although the utilisation of UV-C light and strong oxidising agents, such as bleach, are still efficacious methods for eliminating bacterial surface contamination, both methods present severe health and/or environmental hazards. Materials with intrinsic photodynamic activity (i.e. a material's ability upon photoexcitation to convert molecular oxygen into reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen), which work with light within the visible photomagnetic spectrum could offer a significantly safer alternative. Here we present a new, bespoke molybdenum cluster (Bu 4N) 2[{Mo 6I 8}(CF 3(CF 2) 6COO) 6], which is both efficient in the generation of singlet oxygen upon photoirradiation and compatible with the fluoropolymer (F-32L) known for its good oxygen permeability. Thus, (Bu 4N) 2[{Mo 6I 8 }(CF 3(CF 2) 6COO) 6]/F-32L mixtures have been solution-processed to give homogenous films of smooth and fibrous morphologies and which displayed high photoinduced antibacterial activity against four common pathogens under visible light irradiation. These materials thus have potential in applications ranging from antibacterial coatings to filtration membranes and air conditioners to prevent spread of bacterial infections.

Original languageEnglish
Article number110150
JournalMaterials Science and Engineering C
Volume105
Early online date30 Aug 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding: EPSRC (EP/R006393/1), the Royal Society (RSG\R1\180123) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant. No. 19-53-12019).

Keywords

  • Anti-bacterial materials
  • Octahedral molybdenum cluster
  • Photo-dynamic inactivation

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