Design of Novel Poly(Propranolol) Acrylate and Methacrylate Polymers through Radical Polymerization for Antibacterial Activity and Metal Ion Absorption

The monomer 1-(isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthyloxy)-2-propanoacrylate (IANOPA) and monomer 1-(isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthyloxy)-2-propanomethacrylate (IANOPMA) were synthesized by treating 1-(isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthyloxy)-2-propanol with acryloylchloride/methacryloyl chloride. The above esterification reactions were carried out in the presence of triethylamine. By employing the free radical polymerization method, the synthesized monomers were converted into polymers by using an initiator 2, 2-azobisisobutyronitrile in the presence of nitrogen environment at °C. The monomers and polymers were characterized by various techniques such as FT-IR, UV, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic analyses. Further, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to estimate the glass transition temperature (). Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to estimate the molecular weight of the polymers. In addition, monomer and polymer surfaces’ morphology was analyzed using SEM analysis. As a primary application, the effectiveness of synthesized monomers and polymers was explored as antibacterial agents against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) which were measured from their inhibitory zone diameters. Further, the synthesized polymers, poly-IANOPA and poly-IANOPMA, were utilized for the uptake ability study of heavy metal ions such as Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Pb²⁺ present in water sources by equilibrium method.