Potent Antibacterial Composite Nonwovens Functionalized with Bioactive Peptides and Polymers

Abstract This study presents a set of strategies for producing potent antibacterial fabrics by functionalizing nonwoven fabrics (NWFs) with antimicrobial peptides and polymers (AMPs). The incorporation of AMPs is initially optimized on 2D substrates by evaluating conjugation on a poly(maleic anhydride) copolymer coating versus adsorption on polycationic/anionic films and microgels. The evaluation of the resulting surfaces against S. aureus and E. coli highlights the superior antibacterial activity of poly‐ionic films loaded with daptomycin and polymyxin B as well as microgels featuring controlled release of bacitracin and polymyxin B. These formulations are translated onto spun‐bond polypropylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate) NWFs. The poly‐ionic coatings are either covalently anchored or physically adsorbed onto the surface of the fibers, while the microgels and antibacterial polymers are adsorbed and photo‐crosslinked thereon using a ultraviolet (UV)‐crosslinkable benzophenone‐based polymer. Selected formulations loaded with bacitracin and polymyxin B afford a 10⁵‐fold reduction of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in artificial sweat, respectively, on par with commercial antibacterial NWFs. The proposed antibacterial fabric, however, outperforms its commercial counterparts in terms of biocompatibility, showing virtually no adverse effect on human epidermal keratinocytes. Collectively, these results demonstrate affordable and scalable routes for developing antimicrobial NWFs that efficiently eliminate resilient pathogenic bacteria.