Glycopolymer N-halamine-modified biochars with high specificity for Escherichia coli eradication

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria contamination in environments imposes great threats to human life health. This research aims to develop novel targeted antibacterial biochars for achieving high selectivity to kill pathogenic Escherichia coli ( E. coli ). The glycopolymer N -halamine-modified biochars ( i.e ., BCPMA-Cl) were synthesized by the modification of biochars with poly[2-(methacrylamido) glucopyranose- co -acrylamide] (P(MAG- co -AM), followed by chlorination treatment. Based on the results of FTIR, turbidity, XPS, and UV–vis, BCPMA-Cl was successfully synthesized and demonstrated to be able to eliminate Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and E. coli. Especially, BCPMA-Cl possessed extremely potent to specific-killing 10 4 CFU∙ml −1 of E. coli with lower hemolytic activity (<5%). Additionally, the antibacterial mechanisms of BCPMA-Cl against bacteria were contact-killing and release-killing contributed by active chlorine ( i.e ., Cl + ). Therefore, this work provided a cost-effective and facile approach for preparation of functional biochars used for bacteria-specific therapeutic applications via livestock pollutants as well as showing a promising strategy to avoid bacterial resistance.