Formation of bacterial and fungal biofilm on conducting polyaniline

Polyaniline is an important conducting polymer with numerous applications and its surface properties, and consequently functionality, can be significantly influenced by bacterial biofilm. This paper represents the first ever study of biofilm formation on surface of polyaniline salt, polyaniline base and polyaniline doped with biologically active poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA) and phosphotungstic acid. The surface energy and conductivity of the films were measured and correlated to capability of selected strains of biofilm-positive bacteria and filamentous fungi to form a biofilm thereon. It was observed that polyaniline salt did not inhibit the growth of microorganisms, whereas polyaniline doped with PAMPSA exhibited a notable effect against growth of biofilm for all the bacterial strains used. The results advance present knowledge of biofilm formation on polyaniline.