Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of functionalized amberlite polymer for biomedical application

A smart filter with antimicrobial activity is a promising membrane for detoxifying the blood. These toxins, such as creatinine and hippuric acid, were accumulated in the blood resulting from chronic kidney disease. A promising approach to detoxifying the blood involves modifying the surface of the material, designed to absorb toxins from blood components with great effectiveness. Here, the elimination of substances likes creatinine and hippuric acid from blood was investigated in relation to various functional groups in the polymeric adsorbent amberlite. The amino and sulfonate groups were added to the aromatic ring of the amberlite polymer (AM) independently to produce amberlite-NH₂ (AM-NH₂) and amberlite-SO₃H (AM-SO₃H), respectively. The modified polymer was defined using FT-IR, SEM, EDX, and elemental analysis (CHNS) techniques. The adsorption process factors were examined, and the resulting data were modeled using kinetic models, that encompassed pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations. The pseudo-second-order models provided the best fit to the experimental removal data. After fitting the equilibrium data to both the Freundlich and Langmuir equations, it was discovered that the Langmuir equation adequately captured the equilibrium data. AM-NH₂ showed a 2.75 times improvement in the hippuric acid adsorption capacity rather than parent amberlite (AM), but AM-SO₃H showed approximately 1.63 times increases in the blood toxin (hippuric acid) adsorption capability rather than the original amberlite. In the case of creatinine, the adsorption capacities were 130, 225.6, 385 mg g⁻¹, for AM, AM-NH₂, and AM-SO₃H, respectively. According to the selectivity adsorption process, AM-NH₂ demonstrated selectivity for hippuric acid, while AM-SO₃H was more selective for creatinine. The antibacterial effects of all newly synthesized functional polymer materials on E. coli and S. aureus, along with their antifungal effects against A. niger, were examined. The newly synthesized polymers AM-NH₂ and AM-SO₃H exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, nearly equivalent to that of commercial antibiotics. The inhibition zones of newly synthesized polymers were recorded as 24 mm for E. coli, 25 mm for S. aureus, and 27 mm for A. niger. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value of newly synthesized polymers was less than parent polymer. The current research will aid in the development of an antimicrobial filter base polymers, which provides a cost-effective and eco-friendly option for use in hemodialysis.