Polymers with a Thymol End Group for Durable Antibacterial Cotton Fabrics
Chengdong Zhan, Liqin Lian, Chuming Pang, Liangzhi Hong
Abstract
To alleviate the threat of drug-resistant bacteria, the highly effective antibacterial agent thymol-poly( N, N -dimethylethyl methacrylate) (TP) has been developed by incorporating natural thymol with a hydrophilic PDMAEMA block. Due to the synergistic effect of thymol and PDMAEMA, TPs compensated for the poor water solubility of thymol and demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity by electrostatic interactions and the membrane disruption mechanism. The optimal minimum inhibitory concentration of TPs against typical pathogenic bacteria and drug-resistant bacteria (MRSA) is 31.25 μg/mL, which is more effective than commonly used isothiazolinone and its derivative. Further, TP can be tethered to cotton fabrics to create durable, nonleaching fabrics (TP@CF) that can effectively eliminate pathogenic bacteria, including drug-resistant MRSA. TP@CF fabric can kill 98% of typical Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, which is much higher than AAA-class antibacterial cotton fabrics. In addition, these functional cotton fabrics retain their excellent antibacterial properties even after 70 launderings.