Conjugated polyelectrolyte capsules: light activated antimicrobials

Abstract

Hollow conjugated polyelectrolyte (HCPE) microcapsules contain at least one conjugated polyelectrolyte and at least one other polyelectrolyte of complementary charge and the microcapsule has a hollow core. The conjugated polyelectrolyte is a polymer with a multiplicity of charged repeating units where a portion of the charged repeating units form a pi-conjugated sequence. The complementary polyelectrolyte is a polymer with a complementary charged repeating unit to the charged repeating units of the conjugated polyelectrolyte. The HCPE microcapsules can be formed by successively coating a sacrificial core with alternating layers of complementary polyelectrolytes, at least one of which is a conjugated polyelectrolyte. The sacrificial core can be removed to form the hollow center of a HCPE microcapsule. The HCPE microcapsules can be contacted with a medium containing microbes where the HCPE microcapsules associate with the microbes and efficiently kill the microbes when irradiated with light or other electromagnetic radiation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.