Novel N-Br Bond-Containing N-Halamine Nanofibers with Antibacterial Activities

N-Halamine compounds have attracted great attention because they are recognized as promising antibacterial agents to control microbial contamination; however, most of the research interests were focused on N-halamines that contain N-Cl bond(s) rather than N-Br bond(s). In this contribution, we report the facile fabrication of N-Br bond-containing N-halamine nanofibers using the electrospinning method for antibacterial usages. The as-produced N-Br bond-containing N-halamine nanofibers (i.e., DBDMH/PAN nanofibers) comprise an antibacterial component of 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DBDMH) and a support component of polyacrylonitrile (PAN). When systematic characterizations were carried out, the as-obtained DBDMH/PAN nanofibers were proven to exhibit well-defined fiber-like morphology and be highly efficient in the killing of the selected model bacteria (Escherichia coli). Their morphology and size could be well governed by tuning the concentration of electrospinning precursor and the mass ratio of PAN to DBDMH. The antibacterial mechanism of the DBDMH/PAN nanofibers and their stabilities under dry, wet, and bacterial conditions were confirmed as well. Facile synthesis and antibacterial activity allow the feasibility of the final N-Br bond-containing N-halamine nanofibers for antibacterial-related clinical applications in practice. Our work highlights the development of the N-Br bond-containing N-halamine nanofibers as promising antibacterial agents for biomedical applications.