Fluorescent Cellulose Wipe as a New and Sustainable Light-Activated Antibacterial and Antiviral Agent

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has created awareness toward the development of antibacterial and antiviral materials. In this communication, we report a new and promising antibacterial and antiviral material based on cationic conjugated oligomer electrolytes with imidazole groups (c-OPE-Im) and 1,4-diazabicyclo [2,2,2]-octane pendant groups (c-OPE-DABCO) and a cellulose wipe via a simple dip-coating process. Specific interactions between c-OPE and the cellulose wipe such as the ion-dipole and electrostatic interactions drive the successful coating process, resulting in highly fluorescent materials. The c-OPE-Im coated wipe possesses impressive killing efficiency against Escherichia coli (E. coli) under 5–10 min light-activation. The generation of reactive oxygen species from both “free” c-OPE delivered from the coated wipe and undelivered OPE is proposed to be the antibacterial mechanism. The c-OPE coated wipe also exhibited an appreciable inactivation of SARS-CoV-2, where a total inactivation was achieved in 20–30 min light-activation. The simple preparation, sustainable nature of the cellulose wipe, and promising antibacterial and antiviral performance make the current surface-coated wipes attractive as a new antibacterial and antiviral agent.