Cationic polymers are prospective
fungicidal agents for inhibiting
plant diseases because of the controllability of their structure and
properties. This study investigates the effect of the hydrophobic–hydrophilic
balance on the antifungal activities of antimicrobial polymers against
phytopathogenic fungi (Rhizoctonia solani Kühn
AG-1(IA)), the pathogen of rice sheath blight (RShB). A series of
polydimethylsiloxane-polymethacrylate block copolymers containing
quaternary ammonium salts (PDMS-b-QPDMAEMA, labeled
as SnQm; n and m represent 1000th of the molecular weight of the PDMS and
QPDMAEMA chain, respectively) were synthesized via anionic ring-opening
polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The
abilities of the quaternary ammonium salts to adsorb onto the surface
of R. solani sclerotia and permeate the R.
solani sclerotia were investigated on the basis of static
water contact angles and fluorescence labeling. The results indicated
that the moderately hydrophobic PDMS chain helped stabilize the attachment
of the hydrophilic QPDMAEMA chain and then help it penetrate the R. solani sclerotia. Its antifungal properties toward R. solani were characterized by determining its minimum
inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration
(MFC) and the inhibition rate of R. solani sclerotia
germination. The hydrophobic PDMS chains had a significant influence
on the antifungal activities of amphiphilic SnQm against R. solani sclerotia. This work
highlights the prospective application of amphiphilic antimicrobial
polymers as antifungal agents for inhibiting plant diseases.
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