DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v26i4.25

Keywords: Terpolymer; ligand; coordination polymer; metal complex; antibacterial activity

Abstract

A terpolymer resin derived from resorcinol, formaldehyde and urea (RFU) was synthesized through a condensation reaction. The transition metal ions of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) acetates were incorporated into the resin, yielding polymer-metal complexes. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was employed to determine the molecular weight of the terpolymer resin, while FTIR, UV-Vis, XRD, 1H NMR, TGA, SEM and EDX analyses were conducted on the resin and its complexes. Thermal analysis revealed that the metal complexes were more stable compared to the terpolymer ligand, while EDX studies confirmed the binding of the metals to the ligand. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized materials was investigated against six strains of Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus, S. mutans, S. pyrogenes, S. epidermidis, B. cereus, and C. xerosis) and four strains of Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, K. pneuomonieae, P. aeruginosa, and P. vulgaris). It showed that all the materials were sensitive towards the tested organisms, with RFU-Co(II) having the most promising results. Antifungal activity tests against A. niger, C. albicans, P. notatum, and S. cerevisiae revealed that all the materials were insensitive towards these organisms.