Transforming Polyethylene into Water-Soluble Antifungal Polymers
Celine W. S. Yeung, Mercy Halleluyah Periayah, Jerald Y. Q. Teo, Eunice Tze Leng Goh, Pei Lin Chee, Wei Wei Loh, Xian Jun Loh, Rajamani Lakshminarayanan, Jason Y. C. Lim
Abstract
Petroleum-based polyolefin plastics currently possess highly unsustainable cradle-to-grave linear life cycles. Using them as a resource for the production of new functional polymers not only decreases the generated waste but also reduces our reliance on petroleum-derived monomers for traditional bottom-up synthesis of new polymeric materials. Herein, we demonstrate that polyethylene (PE), the most abundant plastic in production today, can be transformed into low-molecular-weight water-soluble antimicrobial polymers. In this proof-of-concept study, organocatalytic C–H aerobic oxidation of PE was first achieved to append reactive oxygenated and chloro functional groups onto the inert polymer chains, followed by further chemical modifications to form water-soluble amphiphilic polymers. Our first-generation polymer showed antimicrobial efficacy against opportunistic pathogenic Candida fungi without appreciable hemolysis even at high concentrations (2 mg/mL). The PE-derived antimicrobial polymer may find applications to combat the spread of fungal pathogens.