The antimicrobial activity of chitosan and water soluble interpolyelectrolyte complexes of poly(acrylic acid)-chitosan was studied. Chitosans of two different molecular weights were tested at different concentration for 0.5 to 5 g·L-1 as antimicrobial agents against P. aeruginosa and P. oleovorans. In both cases, the best microbial inhibition was obtained with the concentration of 5 g·L-1. However, the interpolyelectrolyte complexes of poly(acrylic acid)-chitosan with composition φ =2 produced higher antibacterial activity than the two chitosans at the concentration of 0.5 g·L-1. The NPEC2 complex was more effective than chitosans. This could be attributed to the number of moles of the amino groups of chitosan and the carboxylic acid groups of the interpolyelectrolyte complexes poly(acrylic acid).
antibacterial activity; chitosan; complexes; poly(acrylic acid); polyelectrolytes
