Nano-microcapsules loaded with nano-antibacterial agents for long-term inhibition of drug-resistant strains

Abstract

There are growing concerns and worries about the safety of public facilities and equipment. Therefore, coating products with antibacterial properties have become the key to solve this problem, and there is an urgent need to develop new antibacterial architectural coatings. In this study, polystyrene nano-microspheres (PS NMS) were prepared from styrene as raw material. PS nano-microcapsules (PS NMC) were prepared by solute co-diffusion method (SCM) using PS NMS as a template, which were modified to obtain PS-OH NMC. CuS nanoparticles (CuS NPs) with antibacterial activity were further loaded to prepare CuS@PS-OH NMC with long-term antibacterial activity. The SEM results showed that the particle size of CuS@PS-OH NMC was about 410 nm, which was larger than that of PS-OH NMC. The characterization of UV and IR spectra confirmed that CuS NPs were not only encapsulated into PS NMC in large quantities, but also adhered to its surface in a small amount. CuS@PS-OH NMC has good water solubility and can slowly release Cu2+, showing good long-term antibacterial properties against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The CuS@PS-OH NMC developed in this study has excellent performance, good antibacterial effect, environmental friendliness, low price, etc. More importantly, it can efficiently and long-term inhibit MRSA, and can be used as a potential antibacterial architectural coating for special scenarios such as hospitals, schools and densely populated places, which has excellent social and economic value.