Barbituric acid-based magnetic N-halamine nanoparticles as recyclable antibacterial agents

Novel recyclable bactericidal materials, barbituric acid-based magnetic N-halamine nanoparticles (BAMNH NPs), were fabricated by coating of magnetic silica nanoparticles (MS NPs) with barbituric acid-based N-halamine by the aid of the radical polymerization. The sterilizing effect on the bacterial strain is investigated by incubating Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis). The as-prepared BAMNH NPs exhibit higher biocidal activity than the bulk powder barbituric acid-based N-halamine due to the high activated surface area. The structural effect of N-halamine on antimicrobial performance was fully clarified through the comparison between BAMNH NPs and hydantoin-based magnetic N-halamine nanoparticles (HMNH NPs). BAMNH NPs exhibited promising stability toward repeated washing and long-term storage. BAMNH NPs with different chlorine content were comparatively chosen to investigate the influence of chlorine content on the antimicrobial activity. An antibacterial recycle experiment revealed that no significant change occurred in the structure and antibacterial efficiency of BAMNH NPs after five recycle experiments. The combination of barbituric acid-based N-halamine with magnetic component results in an obvious synergistic effect and facilitates the repeated antibacterial applications, providing potential and ideal candidates for sterilization or even for the control of disease.