Division of Environment and Sustainability, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Qingdao Hospital (Qingdao Municipal Hospital), Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2023 May 17;13:1186117. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1186117. eCollection 2023.
Airborne transmission is one of the most unpredictable routes of infection. Nowadays, airborne diseases increase ever than before because of the complex living air environment. Apart from the inorganic particles, active microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, and fungi are incorporated in the pathogens acting as threaten to public health, which can hardly be treated by the traditional air purification methods based on adsorption. Therefore, effective filtration material with antimicrobial activity is demanded to solve the problem. Ionic liquids (ILs) are a category of salts that remain liquid at room temperature. The stable physico-chemical properties and extremely low vapor pressure make them suitable for a wide range of applications. Thanks to the numerous combinations of cations and anions, as well as the ability of inheriting properties from the parent ions, Ils are believed to be a promising industrial material. In recent decades, several Ils, such as imidazolium, pyridinium, pyrrolidinium, phosphonium, and choline, have been found to have antimicrobial activity in their monomeric or polymeric forms. This work focuses on the antimicrobial activity and safety of the latest types of ionic liquids, discussing the synthesis or manufacturing methods of Ils for air purification and filtration. Furthermore, possible applications of Ils antimicrobial materials in medical instruments and indoor environments are mentioned to encourage the scientific community to further explore the potential applications of Ils.
空气传播是感染的最不可预测途径之一。如今，由于复杂的生活空气环境，空气传播疾病的发病率比以往任何时候都高。除了无机颗粒外，包括细菌、病毒和真菌在内的活性微生物也包含在病原体中，对公众健康构成威胁，而传统基于吸附的空气净化方法很难对其进行处理。因此，需要具有抗菌活性的有效过滤材料来解决这个问题。离子液体（ILs）是一类在室温下保持液态的盐。其稳定的物理化学性质和极低的蒸气压使其适用于广泛的应用。由于阳离子和阴离子的众多组合，以及从母体离子继承性质的能力，离子液体被认为是一种很有前途的工业材料。在过去的几十年中，已经发现几种离子液体，如咪唑鎓、吡啶鎓、吡咯烷鎓、磷鎓和胆碱，在其单体或聚合物形式下具有抗菌活性。这项工作重点研究了最新类型的离子液体的抗菌活性和安全性，讨论了用于空气净化和过滤的离子液体的合成或制造方法。此外，还提到了离子液体抗菌材料在医疗器械和室内环境中的可能应用，以鼓励科学界进一步探索离子液体的潜在应用。
