Preparation and antimicrobial activity of β-cyclodextrin derivative copolymers/cellulose acetate nanofibers

Abstract As starch derivatives, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) has received increasing attention due to its special chemical structure and excellent properties. In this study, a novel β-CD based on N-halamine antimicrobial copolymer (β-CD-MAH-VBDMH) was synthesized and characterized by solid-state 13C NMR and GPC. The electrospun nanofibers were obtained using mixed solution of β-CD-MAH-VBDMH and cellulose acetate (CA). The obtained nanofibers were characterized by SEM, XPS, XRD, TGA, and DSC. After chlorination treatment by sodium hypochlorite, biocidal efficacies of chlorinated nanofibers against Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 43895) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) were evaluated using a modified AATCC 100-1999 method. The fibers showed excellent antimicrobial properties against the used two bacteria within brief contact times. UVA irradiation tests indicated that the chlorine bound to the fibers is relatively stable, and most of the lost chlorine could be recovered after re-chlorination process. The mouse 3T3 fibroblasts in vitro cell cytocompatibility studies demonstrated that the antibacterial nanofibers have good biocompatibility.