In this study, amphiphilic polyoxanorbornene with different alkyl and aromatic phosphonium side chains was synthesized. The biological activities of these polymers were determined by the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against E. coli, S. aureus, M. tuberculosis and the yeast C. albicans, and cytotoxicity studies on red blood cells were performed. A series of polymers with different alkyl and aromatic substituents (methyl, ethyl, tripropyl, tert-butyl, phenyl, and tris 4-methoxyphenyl) and two types different molecular weight, 3000 g mol⁻¹ and 10 000 g mol⁻¹, were prepared. It was observed that the biological activity of the polymers with aromatic group substituents had an MIC of 16, 8, 64 and 128 μg mL⁻¹ against E. coli, S. aureus, M. tuberculosis and C. albicans, respectively, while those with non-aromatic carbons had a higher MIC compared to those with aromatic carbons. The aromaticity of the repeat unit had impressive effects on hemolytic activities as well. Zeta potential measurements of E. coli incubated with active and inactive polymer concentration revealed a relationship between the MIC and membrane surface charge density. Polymers bearing aromatic groups killed the bacteria with widespread damage after the polymers, holding the threshold concentration, were added to the bacteria.

A series of phosphonium polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) was synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The optimum conductivity obtained was 6 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹.

There is growing interest in the detection of bacteria in consumables, for example, in the food and water sectors. In this study, the aim was to produce a polymer-based bacteria biosensor via ROMP (ring opening metathesis polymerization). In the first part of the study, block and random copolymers were synthesized, and their biocidal activities were tested on the glass surface. Interdigitated electrode arrays coated with the polymers possessing the highest activity were used to screen the affinity towards different bacterial strains by monitoring impedance variations in real-time. The polymer-coated electrode could detect gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria strains at a concentration of 10⁷ cfu/mL. The results show that ROMP-based polymer offers bacterial detection and can be used in developing biosensor devices for efficiently detecting pathogenic bacteria.

A new bisphosphonate-bearing acrylic monomer was synthesized with the Aza-Michael addition reaction from sodium alendronate and polyethylene glycol diacrylate. The PAN copolymer of the new monomer and acrylonitrile was heat resistant. In TGA analysis, the char yield of the copolymer at 650°C was higher than that of PAN and the commercial poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate) while poly(acrylonitrile-co-PEGDA-Ald) copolymers started to decompose at a lower temperature. T_g of the copolymers was considerably lower than PAN. Nanofibers were produced successfully by the electrospinning method from the mixture of poly(acrylonitrile-co-PEGDA-Ald) and poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate). The poly(acrylonitrile-co-PEGDA-Ald) was also used to extract the copper ion from water.