Preparation of blackberry-shape cationic copolymer particles for highly effective antibacterial coatings

The antibacterial materials are rapidly emerging as a primary component in mitigation of bacterial pathogens, and functional polymers play a vital role for the preparation of antibacterial coatings. In this study, using one-pot soap-free emulsion polymerization, we synthesized blackberry-shape cationic copolymer particles (BsCCP) with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, and the BsCCP emulsion was added to the coating of the interior walls, which afforded BsCCP-based coating (BsCCP-C). The effects of surfactants, initiators, temperature, and monomer ratio on the synthesis of BsCCP were investigated. Besides, BsCCP was characterized by Fourier Transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The antibacterial activities of BsCCP and BsCCP-C against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated. BsCCP showed positive charge, high specific surface area and rough surface, which presented strong bactericidal activity. Its antibacterial mechanism was also discussed and demonstrated. To sum up, the BsCCP and BsCCP-C with high antibacterial activity showed great potential and was expected to be a candidate of antibacterial coating materials, which are able to use for rapidly and effectively resisting to the bacterial propagation.