Rapid and persistent bactericidal cotton fabrics finished facilely with reactive N-halamine

Cotton fabrics (CFs) with persistent and rapid bactericidal capability would be of great significance for daily health protection because CFs are very suitable for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. Herein, we developed a reactive N-halamine compound, 3-(3-hydroxypropyl diisocyanate)-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (IPDMH), that can be covalently bound to a CF to generate a bactericidal CF after chlorination (CF-DMF-Cl) without damaging its surface morphology. The antibacterial rates of CF-DMF-Cl (0.5 wt% IPDMH) against the gram -negative bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) and gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) reached 99.99 % and were maintained at 90 % (against E. coli) and 93.5 % (against S. aureus) after 50 laundering cycles. The combination of contact killing and release killing mechanisms by CF-PDM-Cl leads to its rapid and persistent bactericidal activity. In addition, CF-DMF-Cl exhibits adequate biocompatibility, well-maintained mechanical properties, air/water vapor permeability and whiteness. Therefore, the proposed CF-DMF-Cl has great potential applications as a bactericidal CF for use in medical textiles, sportswear, home dressings, and so on.