Durable antimicrobial finishing of cellulose with QSA silicone by supercritical adsorption

This study demonstrated a generic and simple approach to generate durable antibacterial ability on cellulose without using covalently bonding tethering groups that limit the structure design. CO2-philic silicone with quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) pendants was synthesized through hydrosilylation reaction of poly(methylhydrosiloxane) (PMHS) and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl acrylate in the presence of platinum-based catalyst and subsequent quaternization with 1-bromohexane. The resultant QAS silicone was deposited onto cellulose by adsorption from supercritical CO2 (scCO2) to provide potent biocidal activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Presented data also showed that the antibacterial layer was very stable toward washing and UV irradiation owning to the low surface tension and relatively high bond energy of the backbone of silicone. This procedure is applicable to substrates of other shape and chemistry.