Highly efficient and durable antibacterial cotton fabrics finished with zwitterionic polysulfobetaine by one-step eco-friendly strategy

In this work, a novel formulation of polysulfobetaine, poly (sulfobetaine-acrylamide-allyl glycidyl ether) (PSPB-AM-AGE), was synthesized and grafted onto cotton. The synthesis of PSPB-AM-AGE and its grafting on the cotton fabrics were confirmed by FTIR, XPS and SEM. The PSPB-AM-AGE treated cotton fabrics exhibited a high level of antibacterial rate against both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), which are 95.18% and 98.74%, separately, as well as a good laundry durability. The mechanical tests showed that the essential cotton properties can be largely preserved in the treatment process. Moreover, the hydrophilicity, air and water permeability of the cotton were improved after treated with PSPB-AM-AGE, indicating a better wearing comfort performance. The whiteness of the cotton fabrics did not decrease significantly. The safety evaluation demonstrated that PSPB-AM-AGE had no cytotoxicity. The developed antibacterial finishing introduced a new method to apply polysulfobetaine interfaced on cellulose, providing great potential for biomedical fabric application. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10570-020-03542-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.