Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Membrane Based on Poly (2-Ethyl Oxazoline) and Poly (Propylene) Graft Copolymer for Potential Food Packaging and Medical Applications

Cost-effective olefin polymers have been producing several hundred million tons of olefins each year. They have material properties suitable for packaging and biomedical applications. Among them, chlorinated polypropylene (PP-Cl) was functionalized with poly-(2-ethyl oxazoline) (PP-polyEtOx) to obtain a biomimetic PP-polyEtOx conjugate polymer material. Poly-(2-ethyl oxazoline) is a water-soluble antibacterial and anticancer polymer. The combination of this bioactive polymer with the elastic properties of polypropylene via graft copolymerization provided a potential active food packaging material. Here, the obtained PP-polyEtOx graft copolymer was characterized structurally using 1H NMR, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The water vapor transmission rates of the obtained membranes are better than those of polyethylene terephthalate membrane. Biologic active characterization of the block copolymer was carried out in view of the antibacterial and anticancer properties. The PP-polyEtOx graft copolymers caused a reduction in colony counts for both <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>E. coli</i> compared to the control. The as-synthesized PP-polyEtOx graft copolymers exhibited an inhibition of viability in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells.