Silane-functionalized polyionenes-coated cotton fabrics with potent antimicrobial and antiviral activities

Bacterial and viral infections are posing a huge burden on healthcare industry. Existing antimicrobial textiles that are used to prevent infection transmission are lack of durability and antiviral activity. Here, we report on silane-functionalized polyionenes-coated cotton textiles with durable potent antimicrobial and antiviral activities. To obtain silane-functionalized polyionenes, silane group-containing monomers were synthesized and used to polymerize with co-monomers. These polyionenes were then conjugated onto the surface of cotton fabrics via covalent bonds. These polymers demonstrated broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against various types of pathogenic microbes as evidenced by low effective concentration. The fabrics coated with these polymers exhibited potent bactericidal (>99.999%) and virucidal (7-log PFU reduction) activities. In addition, the antimicrobial efficacy was still more than 92% even after 50 times of washing. Evaluation of cytocompatibility and skin compatibility of the polymer-coated cotton fabrics in mice revealed that they were compatible with cells and mouse skin, and neither erythema nor edema was found in the area that was in contact with the polymer-coated fabrics. The silane-functionalized polyionenes are potentially promising antimicrobial and antiviral coating materials for textiles and other applications to prevent microbial and viral infections.