Novel N–Br Bond-Containing <i>N</i>-Halamine Nanofibers with Antibacterial Activities

Abstract

<i>N</i>-Halamine compounds have attracted great attention because they are recognized as promising antibacterial agents to control microbial contamination; however, most of the research interests were focused on <i>N</i>-halamines that contain N-Cl bond(s) rather than N-Br bond(s). In this contribution, we report the facile fabrication of N-Br bond-containing <i>N</i>-halamine nanofibers using the electrospinning method for antibacterial usages. The as-produced N-Br bond-containing <i>N</i>-halamine nanofibers (i.e., DBDMH/PAN nanofibers) comprise an antibacterial component of 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DBDMH) and a support component of polyacrylonitrile (PAN). When systematic characterizations were carried out, the as-obtained DBDMH/PAN nanofibers were proven to exhibit well-defined fiber-like morphology and be highly efficient in the killing of the selected model bacteria (<i>Escherichia coli</i>). Their morphology and size could be well governed by tuning the concentration of electrospinning precursor and the mass ratio of PAN to DBDMH. The antibacterial mechanism of the DBDMH/PAN nanofibers and their stabilities under dry, wet, and bacterial conditions were confirmed as well. Facile synthesis and antibacterial activity allow the feasibility of the final N-Br bond-containing <i>N</i>-halamine nanofibers for antibacterial-related clinical applications in practice. Our work highlights the development of the N-Br bond-containing <i>N</i>-halamine nanofibers as promising antibacterial agents for biomedical applications.