**Investigation of Polyaniline and a Functionalised Derivative as Antimicrobial Additives to Create Contamination Resistant Surfaces**

### **Julia Robertson 1, Marija Gizdavic-Nikolaidis 2 and Simon Swift 1,\***


Received: 2 February 2018; Accepted: 13 March 2018; Published: 16 March 2018

**Abstract:** Antimicrobial surfaces can be applied to break transmission pathways in hospitals. Polyaniline (PANI) and poly(3-aminobenzoic acid) (P3ABA) are novel antimicrobial agents with potential as non-leaching additives to provide contamination resistant surfaces. The activity of PANI and P3ABA were investigated in suspension and as part of absorbent and non-absorbent surfaces. The effect of inoculum size and the presence of organic matter on surface activity was determined. PANI and P3ABA both demonstrated bactericidal activity against *Escherichia coli* and *Staphylococcus aureus* in suspension and as part of an absorbent surface. Only P3ABA showed antimicrobial activity in non-absorbent films. The results that are presented in this work support the use of P3ABA to create contamination resistant surfaces.

**Keywords:** antimicrobial; surfaces; infection control; polyaniline; *Escherichia coli*; *Staphylococcus aureus*
