Crosslinked QA-PEI nanoparticles: synthesis reproducibility, chemical modifications, and stability study

Quaternary ammonium polyethylenimine (QA-PEI) nanoparticles were synthesized by PEI crosslinking and alkylation with octyliodide followed by quaternization by methyl iodide. The present study focuses on the reproducibility of particles formation with respect to particle size, positive charge, oxidative, thermal stability and antibacterial activity. The QA-PEI-based nanoparticles with particle size in the range of 160190nm were synthesized in high reproducibility and showed high chemical stability against environmental changes including exposure to different oxidizers and storage conditions. QA-PEI nanoparticles incorporated in dental restorative resin composites at 2% w/w demonstrated strong antibacterial activity. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.