Abstract
A series of novel metal‐chelated epoxy resins have been synthesized by the condensation of epichlorohydrin (1‐chloro‐2, 3 epoxy propane) with bisphenolic metal chelates in alkaline medium. The bisphenolic chelates were initially prepared by the reaction of 3‐formyl‐4, 4′‐dihydroxy diphenyl methane and diamine (ethylenediamine/o‐phenylenediamine) in 1:2 molar ratio and then with Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II) acetate. The metal‐chelated epoxy resins were characterized by various instrumental techniques, such as elemental analysis, DSC and TGA, electronic, FTIR, ^1^H‐NMR, and ^13^C‐NMR spectra. The physicochemical properties, viz., epoxide equivalent weight (eq/100 g), hydroxyl value (eq/100 g), refractive index, specific gravity, and specific viscosity were measured by standard procedures. The antimicrobial activities of these chelated resins were screened against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillius subtilis (bacteria), and Candida albicans, Mucor species (yeast) by using agar well diffusion method. All the polymeric chelates show promising antimicrobial activities. Among these polymeric chelates (ERPD)‐Cu(II) shows better antimicrobial activities, which can be attributed to higher stability constant of Cu(II) chelate than others. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1347–1355, 2006