Preparation of antimicrobial poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) membrane by grafting with N-halamine

5,5-dimethyl-3-(3'-triethoxysilylpropyl)-hydantoin (SPH) was grafted and chlorinated on the surface of poly (ethylene -co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) membrane. The effects of modification method, reaction time, N-halamine amount, reaction temperature and NaClO concentration on the chlorine content and antibacterial activity of N-halamine modified EVOH membrane were investigated. It was found that, submerge reaction was more effective than the dip-coating reaction in the modification of EVOH membrane. Under the same conditions, the chlorine content of the membrane prepared by the submerge reaction is 1.8 times that of dip-coating reaction. With the increased grafting time, the chlorine content of EVOH membrane showed an obvious rising trend from 0.025% to 0.037%. With the increase of NaClO concentration, the chlorine content rose from 0.010% to 0.037%. For the E. coli concentration of 1.86 x 10(6) CFU/mL, with the rising chlorine content (0.025% -0.037%), the inactivation rate of EVOH membrane increased significantly (72% - 100%). The N-halamine modified EVOH membranes showed excellent regeneration and reusability performance, indicating great potential in the applications.

Automated summary

In this study, 5,5-dimethyl-3-(3'-triethoxysilylpropyl)-hydantoin (SPH) was grafted and chlorinated on the surface of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) membrane, resulting in improved chlorine content and antibacterial activity. Submerge reaction was found to be more effective than dip-coating reaction for membrane modification, and increasing grafting time and NaClO concentration led to higher chlorine content and enhanced antibacterial activity of the EVOH membrane.