Analysis of antibacterial action of polyvinyl chloride surface modified with gentian violet

Abstract

The effect of incorporation of gentian violet into medical-grade polyvinyl chloride was studied in this work. The antibacterial properties of the resulting blend were evaluated and the influence of the amount of gentian violet assessed. Dispersion of the gentian violet in the polyvinyl chloride following the blending of the two components was uniform as was demonstrated by the optical images, which is important for any further analysis. The samples of the blend were modified compared to the PVC samples that were not treated with gentian violet. This was clearly demonstrated by the scanning electron microscope images. Water contact angles reduced from 77.2 degrees for the pure sample to lower values for the modified samples, signaling that the hydrophilicity of the modified samples was improved. All of these results correlated well with the antimicrobial investigations, which showed inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus action by the modified samples, but no inhibition by the pure samples. Furthermore, the inhibition zone increased with gentian violet content in the blend.