Abstract The literature reports several potential applications of polymers prepared with high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). However, the evaluation of these materials as supports for antimicrobial agents has not been explored. In this work, silver composites based on polyHIPEs were prepared. Initial studies indicated that these materials can be efficient to prevent biofilm formation. The silver composites were prepared in three steps. First, HIPEs based on styrene-divinylbenzene were polymerized by aqueous suspension polymerization. These particles showed surface areas of 18 and 48 m2/g. These polyHIPEs were sulfonated with concentrated sulfuric acid or acetyl sulfate and showed cation exchange capacities of 4.03 and 5.07 meq/g respectively. The sulfonated material was impregnated with silver ions, followed by reduction of the ions to prepare silver composites. These composites showed inhibition halos against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. and did not present adhesion of bacterial cells of K. variicola and S. aureus on their surface.

Abstract This article reports the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of a silver composite based on sulfonic resin. The antimicrobial action of the composite was evaluated against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus through plate, batch and colunm experiments. In batch studies, the efficiency of the composite was evaluated as a function of composite mass, bacterial concentration and contact time. We also developed a method to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of this composite using column tests. The antimicrobial activity of the composite was similar against the three bacteria in halo inhibition and batch experiments. The antibacterial activity was 100% against all bacteria above 0.20 g of composite and for all concentrations of bacteria studied. Column studies showed that the composite (1 g) had 100% action against 48 cm3 of S. aureus and 55 cm3 of E. coli and P. aeruginosa suspensions (105 cells mL-1, 50 cm3 min-1).