Synthesis, Structure, Surface and Antimicrobial Properties of New Oligomeric Quaternary Ammonium Salts with Aromatic Spacers.

New dimeric, trimeric and tetrameric quaternary ammonium salts were accomplished by reaction of tertiary alkyldimethyl amines with appropriate bromomethylbenzene derivatives. A series of new cationic surfactants contain different alkyl chain lengths (C4-C18), aromatic spacers and different numbers of quaternary nitrogen atoms. The structure of the products was confirmed by spectral analysis (FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, 13C-NMR and 2D-NMR), mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS), elemental analysis, as well as PM5 semiempirical methods. Compound (21) was also analyzed using X-ray crystallography. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 1,4-bis-[N-(1-alkyl)-N,N-dimethylammoniummethyl]benzene dibromides (3-9) was determined to characterize the aggregation behavior. The antimicrobial properties of novel QACs (Quaternary Ammonium Salts) were examined to set their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against fungi Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Penicillium chrysogenum and bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Biodegradability and aquatic toxicity of quaternary ammonium-based gemini surfactants: Effect of the spacer on their ecological properties.

Aerobic biodegradability and aquatic toxicity of five types of quaternary ammonium-based gemini surfactants have been examined. The effect of the spacer structure and the head group polarity on the ecological properties of a series of dimeric dodecyl ammonium surfactants has been investigated. Standard tests for ready biodegradability assessment (OECD 310) were conducted for C12 alkyl chain gemini surfactants containing oxygen, nitrogen or a benzene ring in the spacer linkage and/or a hydroxyethyl group attached to the nitrogen atom of the head groups. According to the results obtained, the gemini surfactants examined cannot be considered as readily biodegradable compounds. The negligible biotransformation of the gemini surfactants under the standard biodegradation test conditions was found to be due to their toxic effects on the microbial population responsible for aerobic biodegradation. Aquatic toxicity of gemini surfactants was evaluated against Daphnia magna. The acute toxicity values to Daphnia magna, IC50 at 48 h exposure, ranged from 0.6 to 1 mg/L. On the basis of these values, the gemini surfactants tested should be classified as toxic or very toxic to the aquatic environment. However, the dimeric quaternary ammonium-based surfactants examined result to be less toxic than their corresponding monomeric analogs. Nevertheless the aquatic toxicity of these gemini surfactants can be reduced by increasing the molecule hydrophilicity by adding a heteroatom to the spacer or a hydroxyethyl group to the polar head groups.