Abstract:
Conductive polymers go against the normal properties of all other polymers and are instead conductive albeit requiring certain thresholds to be achieved or circumstances present to achieve this conductivity. Polypyrrole has been the conductive polymer in focus for this research. Characterization of the previously synthesized polypyrrole has been successful in mapping out its properties and allowing for a greater understanding of its viability as a biomaterial. Differential thermal analysis, conductivity testing, and bacterial testing were all done with promising results. Through conductivity testing, up to 280mV were measured for the synthesized polypyrrole using a two-point test when placed in deionized water at room temperature. Bacterial testing yielded potential inhibition zones from polypyrrole when tested against Escherichia coli. Additionally, the synthesized polypyrrole was found to be extremely resistant to chemical erosion and shows no insulation effects during electrical bacterial testing. The synthesized polypyrrole has shown promising results toward being a safe and effective biomaterial.
