Porous antimicrobial starch particles containing N-halamine functional groups

The porous antimicrobial starch particles containing N-Halamine functional groups (PST-MBA-Cl particles) were synthesized by a crosslinking polymerization between starch (ST) and N, N' -methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), and then a chlorination of amide groups of MBA . The synthetic process used only water as the solvent and was environmentally friendly. The results showed that under the optimal preparation conditions, the as-synthesized PST-MBA-Cl particles could have a Cl + % of 8.60 %. Antimicrobial tests showed that PST-MBA-Cl particles had very powerful antimicrobial efficacy against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and could completely kill Staphylococcus aureus with a concentration of 2.1 × 10 6 CFU/mL and Escherichia coli with a concentration of 5.6 × 10 6 CFU/mL within a contact time of one minute. Furthermore, the N-Halamine functional groups of PST-MBA-Cl particles also showed excellent stability under storage and reproducibility. Therefore, the as-synthesized PST-MBA-Cl particles will have potential applications in water disinfection.