Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Polymer-Coated Fabrics via Commodity Polystyrene Upcycling

Polystyrene derived from styrofoam food containers was transformed into antimicrobial polymer coatings on cotton fabric via a facile chemical upcycling process. In a two-step sequence, commodity polystyrene was first subjected to initial halomethylation where the pendent phenyl rings of the polymer were functionalized quantitatively with CH 2 Cl moieties. Next, in our key fabrication step, in situ quaternization and cross-linking of the polymer with a rigid bifunctional tertiary amine were readily achieved under ambient conditions using a drop-and-dry approach on cotton to afford a polycation-coated fabric. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed cotton fibers that were coated with aggregated cationic polymer nanoparticles. The functionalized textile remained flexible and was found to exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against a panel of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as fungal pathogens including the recently emerged multidrug-resistant Candida auris . This facile synthesis of microbicidal coatings on cotton fabric holds the potential to sustainably create functional wearables for the healthcare industry from cheaply available postconsumer commodity polymers.