Antibacterial/Antiviral Property and Mechanism of Dual-Functional Quaternized Pyridinium-type Copolymer

Due to the massive outbreaks of pathogen-caused diseases and the increase of drug-resistant pathogens, there is a particular interest in the development of novel disinfection agents with broad-spectrum antipathogenic activity. In the present study, water-soluble pyridinium-type polyvinylpyrrolidones with different counter anions were prepared. Structural characterization was conducted via C-13-H-1 heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectroscopy, static light scattering, UV spectrometry and apparent charge density. The influence of counter anion and polymer compositions on the antibacterial activity was studied against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied for tracking the morphological alterations in bacterial cells induced by prepared polycations. It was found that the exposure of bacteria to the polycations resulted in the destruction of cell membranes and the leakage of cytoplasm. The antiviral activity of pyridinium-type polycations against enveloped influenza virus was evaluated via a plaque assay. The action mode against enveloped virus was depicted to rationalize the antiviral mechanism.