A rapid way of preparing switchable bacteria-killing and bacteria-releasing cellulosic material with anti-bacteria adhesion capability

At present, some multifunctional and smart materials equipped with both bacteria-killing and bacteria-defending functions have been created to meet the demands of some particular application areas. However, most of these materials were either biologically incompatible or required intricate crafting. In this paper, a finishing agent containing quaternary ammonium lactone ring and NCO groups was developed. Particularly, the quaternary ammonium lactone ring can transfer to zwitterionic form in alkaline conditions, providing possibilities for switching of different functions. As a result, this agent was demonstrated to be quickly and covalently grafted to cellulosic materials. Moreover, the finished fabrics can kill more than 99.90% of bacteria (both E. coli and S. aureus) when they are in the form of quaternary ammonium lactone ring structure, and it can release almost 99.00% of the bacteria after being transferred to the zwitterionic form. Simultaneously, the zwitterionic state has a 99.90% efficiency of anti-bacteria adhesion. Hence, this is an easy and rapid way to realize the multifunction of bacteria-killing, bacteriareleasing and anti-bacteria adhesion on cellulosic material. It has a great application prospect in inner single-use medical materials to kill the attached bacteria, further release them before using and prevent the materials from being attached by bacteria again. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

A novel finishing agent has been developed in this study to achieve multifunctionality, including bacteria-killing, bacteria-releasing and anti-bacteria adhesion, on cellulosic materials. This agent demonstrates rapid covalent grafting and the ability to switch between different functions in alkaline conditions. It has significant application potential in inner single-use medical materials.