Techniques regarding killing of a pathogen with one or more ionene compositions having antimicrobial functionality are provided. For example, one or more embodiments can comprise a method, which can comprise contacting a Mycobacterium tuberculosis microbe with a chemical compound. The chemical compound can comprise an ionene unit. Also, the ionene unit can comprise a cation distributed along a molecular backbone. The ionene unit can have antimicrobial functionality. The method can further comprise electrostatically disrupting a membrane of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis microbe in response to the contacting.