Quaternary‐ammonium‐compounds are potent cationic antimicrobials used in everyday consumer products. Surface‐immobilized, quaternary‐ammonium‐compounds create an antimicrobial contact‐killing coating. We describe the preparation of a shape‐adaptive, contact‐killing coating by tethering quaternary‐ammonium‐compounds onto hyperbranched polyurea coatings, able to kill adhering bacteria by partially enveloping them. Even after extensive washing, coatings caused high contact‐killing of Staphylococcus epidermidis, both in culture‐based assays and through confocal‐laser‐scanning‐microscopic examination of the membrane‐damage of adhering bacteria. In culture‐based assays, at a challenge of 1600 CFU/cm2, contact‐killing was >99.99%. The working‐mechanism of dissolved quaternary‐ammonium‐compounds is based on their interdigitation in bacterial membranes, but it is difficult to envisage how immobilized quaternary‐ammonium‐molecules can exert such a mechanism of action. Staphylococcal adhesion forces to hyperbranched quaternary‐ammonium coatings were extremely high, indicating that quaternary‐ammonium‐molecules on hyperbranched polyurea partially envelope adhering bacteria upon contact. These lethally strong adhesion forces upon adhering bacteria then cause removal of membrane lipids and eventually lead to bacterial death.

Effects of a quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) on the survival of adhering staphylococci on a surface were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Four strains with different minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) for the QAC were exposed to three different concentrations of the QAC in potassium phosphate buffer (0.5؋, 1؋, and 2؋ MBC) while adhering to glass. Adhering staphylococci were repeatedly imaged with AFM in the contact mode, and the cell surface was found to wrinkle upon progressive exposure to the QAC until bacteria disappeared from the substratum. Higher concentrations of QAC yielded faster wrinkling and the disappearance of bacteria during imaging. Two slime-producing staphylococcal strains survived longer on the surface than two non-slime-producing strains despite similar MICs and MBCs. All staphylococci adhering in unscanned areas remained adhering during exposure to QAC. Since MICs and MBCs did not relate to bacterial cell surface hydrophobicities and zeta potentials, survival on the surface is probably not determined by the direct interaction of QAC molecules with the cell surface. Instead, it is suggested that the pressure of the AFM tip assists the incorporation of QAC molecules in the membrane and enhances their bactericidal efficacy. In addition, the prolonged survival under pressure from slime-producing strains on a surface may point to a new protective role of slime as a stress absorber, impeding the incorporation of QAC molecules. The addition of Ca 2؉ ions to a QAC solution yielded longer survival of intact, adhering staphylococci, suggesting that Ca 2؉ ions can impede the exchange of membrane Ca 2؉ ions required for QAC incorporation.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 – August 2, 2012.