Rechargeable Antibacterial N-Halamine Films with Antifouling Function for Food Packaging Applications

Pathogenic microbial contamination from microbial adhesion and subsequent formation of the biofilm on surfaces of plastic food packaging materials, especially with robust resistance to antimicrobial agents, is a major reason for the outbreak of foodborne infections. Conventional strategies in controlling the contaminations are significantly limited either by biofouling or by the irreversible consumption of antimicrobial agents. Herein, we report a robust methodology to create rechargeable biocidal poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) films (SBMA@HAF films) with antifouling function via chemically incorporating both N-halamine (HAF) and zwitterionic moieties [[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA)]. The promise of the design exhibits three features to defeat bacterial contaminations: (i) zwitterionic moieties can effectively reduce bacterial attachment onto the films, (ii) N-halamine with robust rechargeable biocidal activity can rapidly kill any attached bacteria, and (iii) any inactivated bacterial debris can be easily released to avoid biofilm formation due to the superhydrophilicity of the zwitterions. The resulting SBMA@HAF films exhibit integrated properties of high transparency, robust mechanical property, great hydrophilicity, ease of chlorine recharging (>250 ppm), long-term stability, high biocidal efficacy (>99.9999% via contact killing), and promising antifouling functions, which enable the SBMA@HAF films to serve as a biocidal material in food packaging applications.