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Mechanically Robust and Transparent N ‐Halamine Grafted PVA‐co‐PE Films with Renewable Antimicrobial Activity
Author(s) -
Si Yang,
Cossu Andrea,
Nitin Nitin,
Ma Yue,
Zhao Cunyi,
Chiou Borsen,
Cao Trung,
Wang Dong,
Sun Gang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201600304
Subject(s) - antimicrobial , materials science , vinyl alcohol , reactive extrusion , durability , polymer , nanotechnology , chemistry , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , composite material , engineering
Antimicrobial polymeric films that are both mechanically robust and function renewable would have broad technological implications for areas ranging from medical safety and bioengineering to foods industry; however, creating such materials has proven extremely challenging. Here, a novel strategy is reported to create high‐strength N ‐halamine incorporated poly(vinyl alcohol‐co‐ethylene) films (HAF films) with renewable antimicrobial activity by combining melt radical graft polymerization and reactive extrusion technique. The approach allows here the intrinsically rechargeable N ‐halamine moieties to be covalently incorporated into polymeric films with high biocidal activity and durability. The resulting HAF films exhibit integrated properties of robust mechanical strength, high transparency, rechargeable chlorination capability (>300 ppm), and long‐term durability, which can effectively offer 3–5 logs CFU reduction against typical pathogenic bacterium Escherichia coli within a short contact time of 1 h, even at high organism conditions. The successful synthesis of HAF films also provides a versatile platform for exploring the applications of antimicrobial N ‐halamine moieties in a self‐supporting, structurally adaptive, and function renewable form.