Preparation and Antibacterial Properties of Poly(N-hydroxymethyl Acrylamide)/Na-montmorillonite Composites viain situPolymerization

In the present study, poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) (PHMAm)/unmodified Na-montmorillonite(Na-MMT) composites had been successfully synthesized by in situradical polymerization and the antibacterial activities of the composites against Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria were scrutinized.The structure, morphology, and particle size of prepared composites were characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).According to the XRD analysis, the interlayer spacingof montmorillonite layers wasexpanded. SEM images showed that the morphology of composites was spongy and porous cauliflower-like shape. TEM revealed the Na-montmorillonite intercalated in poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) matrix. All the obtained composites exhibited good antibacterial activity against various pathogens bacterial strain particularly Pseudomonas aeroginosaGram (-) using disk diffusion method. The antibacterial activity of composites was increased with HMAmmonomer content except Escherichia coli35218.