Antibacterial plasticizers based on bio-based engineering elastomers for medical PVC: synthesis, characterization and properties

Abstract

Flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is widely used for urine bags, urine catheters, blood storage bags, and blood tubing in extracorporeal circuits, but it can be frequently susceptible to bacterial infection. In this paper, bio-based engineering elastomers were modified by a kind of quaternary ammonium salt (QDED) in order to prepare antibacterial plasticizers for medical PVC. The results indicated that the antibacterial plasticizers could provide a PVC plasticizing effect, which had a low migration rate and improved the hydrophilicity of the surface of PVC. The blending of such antibacterial plasticizers was also beneficial to impart PVC antibacterial function against Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria, and inhibit biofilm formation. This study offered a simple and effective approach to prepare antibacterial plasticizers for PVC. Such plasticizers could be used to develop medical PVC products with promising clinical applicability such as catheters, blood storage bags, etc.