Silver sulfadiazine-immobilized celluloses as biocompatible polymeric biocides

Sulfadiazine was immobilized onto cotton cellulose using ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether as a binder. Upon treatment with diluted silver nitrate aqueous solution, the sulfadiazine moieties in the immobilized celluloses were transformed into silver-sulfadiazine coordination complexes. The resulting silver sulfadiazine-immobilized celluloses provided a 6-log reduction of 10(8) CFU mL(-1) of Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria), Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (drug-resistant bacteria), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (drug-resistant bacteria), and Candida albicans (fungi) in 30-60 minutes, and a 5-log reduction of 10(7) PFU mL(-1) of MS2 virus in 120 minutes. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activities were both durable and rechargeable. Additionally, trypan blue assay suggested that the new silver sulfadiazine-immobilized celluloses sustained excellent mammal cell viability, pointing to great potentials of the new materials for a broad range of health care-related applications.