Guanidine-functionalized cotton fabrics for achieving permanent antibacterial activity without compromising their physicochemical properties and cytocompatibility

Antibacterial fabrics have attracted wide attention since bacterial infection remains a leading threat to global health due to the abuse of antibiotics and the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens. A novel tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) protected guanidine containing isocyanate group (NCO) (IGUA-Boc) was developed and covalently bonded onto the cotton fabric surface to fabricate excellent antibacterial cotton fabrics with negligible cytotoxicity via dipping-padding-drying process followed by deprotection of Boc group through the acidification process. The guanidine-functionalized cotton fabrics could well retain their mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, moisture permeability, air permeability, softness and whiteness. More importantly, the antibacterial rates of the guanidine-functionalized cotton fabrics against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus were up to 88.5% and 99.9%, respectively even after 50 laundering cycles, which were much larger than that finished with commercial antibacterial agents. Therefore, these guanidine-functionalized cotton fabrics and their finishing method have well potential for applications in surgical equipment, hospitals, hotels and daily necessities. Graphic abstract A novel tert-butoxycarbonyl protected guanidine containing isocyanate group was developed and covalently bonded onto the cotton fabric surface to fabricate excellent antibacterial cotton fabrics without compromising their physicochemical properties and cytocompatibility via dipping-padding-drying followed by deprotection of Boc group [GRAPHICS] .