Obtaining and Studying the Properties of Composite Materials from ortho-, meta-, para-Carboxyphenylmaleimide and ABS

This work presents the results of the synthesis and investigation of new antibacterial composite materials based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer and <i>o</i>-, <i>m</i>-, <i>p</i>-carboxyphenylmaleimides (CPhMI). The composites were obtained by thermal mixing with varying contents of different CPhMI isomers in the polymer matrix. The structural and thermal characteristics of the synthesized materials were investigated using IR and UV spectroscopy, as well as thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results indicate that the <i>o</i>-isomer imparts the highest thermal stability, while the <i>p</i>-isomer shows slightly lower stability. In terms of processability, the <i>m</i>-isomer exhibits the highest melt flow, the <i>p</i>-isomer an intermediate level, and the <i>o</i>-isomer the lowest. The antibacterial activity of the composites was evaluated by the agar diffusion method against Gram-positive (<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>) and Gram-negative (<i>Escherichia coli</i>) microorganisms. All synthesized samples exhibited strong antibacterial activity against <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>E. coli</i> at a concentration of 0.5 wt%, confirming their potential for application in medical devices, as well as in sanitary polymer coatings and packaging.