The rising number of bacterial and fungal infections worldwide is demanding researchers and companies to develop more efficient technologies to treat and avoid the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Because nonwoven fabrics (NWFs) are materials largely used in the healthcare and personal care industry, healthcare workers, patients, and customers could benefit from the design of antibacterial nonwovens. To incorporate antibacterial peptides into nonwovens, we designed 13 different formulations of microgels composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), methacrylic acid (MAA), and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) that were crosslinked to polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers using benzophenone-based compounds under UV light. Microgel-functionalized NWs were able to load and release antibacterial peptides, polymyxin B and bacitracin. Microgels composed of higher mol% of MAA exhibited higher loading capacity while the presence of HEA slowed the release of bacitracin when samples were incubated in artificial sweat. Modified NWs loaded with polymyxin B and bacitracin showed antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. These results confirm that pNIPAM-co-MAA-co-HEA microgels can be used on NWs for loading and controlled release of bioactive cationic peptides.

Rational design of nonwoven fabrics coated with bioactive peptides and polymers for high antibacterial activity

ACS Spring 2022

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