title: Recent Advances in Antimicrobial Polymers: A Mini-Review.
abstract: Human safety and well-being is threatened by microbes causing numerous infectious diseases resulting in a large number of deaths every year. Despite substantial progress in antimicrobial drugs, many infectious diseases remain difficult to treat. Antimicrobial polymers offer a promising antimicrobial strategy for fighting pathogens and have received considerable attention in both academic and industrial research. This mini-review presents the advances made in antimicrobial polymers since 2013. Antimicrobial mechanisms exhibiting either passive or active action and polymer material types containing bound or leaching antimicrobials are introduced. This article also addresses the applications of these antimicrobial polymers in the medical, food, and textile industries.
authors.affiliation: The School of Chinese Medicine for Post-Baccalaureate, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 84001, Taiwan. huangks@isu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Keng-Shiang
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science and Technology, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 84001, Taiwan. chyang@isu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chih-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36003, Taiwan. simone@nuu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shu-Ling
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36003, Taiwan. wayne20410@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cheng-You
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36003, Taiwan. ilovego0014010@yahoo.com.tw.
authors.forename: Yuan-Yi
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36003, Taiwan. linys@nuu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yung-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
keywords: antimicrobial; bacteria; microbe; polymer; review