A novel material based on an antibacterial choline-calixarene nanoassembly embedded in thin films

Supramolecular chemistry is one of the current strategies for producing advanced materials. With the aim to develop new Thin-Films with antibacterial activity, we embedded an amphiphilic choline-calix[4]arene possessing antibacterial properties in polymeric Thin-Films based on polyether-co-amide matrix (Pebax®2533). The loading of the calix[4]arene derivative in the film was performed by solution casting. The amount of calixarene additive in the films was in the range of 0.5–5 wt%. The self-supported Thin-Films were characterized by investigating phase miscibility, morphology, spectral properties, and gas transport. The release of the calixarene derivative from the films was studied in a biomimetic medium as PBS (10 mM, pH 7.4). The presence of the additive did not affect the thermal stability of the copolymer, whereas it induced an increase in crystallinity, wettability, and gas permeability of the blend films according to its concentration. The antibacterial activity of the films was evaluated in vitro against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains, representative of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The developed films displayed antibacterial activity against both strains. In particular, Pebax®− 5 wt% Chol-Calix caused within 10 h a reduction in E. coli and S. aureus of 2.57 and 2 log CFU/mL, respectively. The potential toxicity of the films was also tested on mouse embryonic fibroblasts NIH/3T3. Pebax®2533/calixarene derivative combination appears a promising approach for the development of novel flexible antibacterial materials. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].