Organosilicon Borneol Ester/Quaternary Ammonium Salt Based Attack-Defense Coatings for Durable Antibacterial and Antifungal Cotton Textiles

Abstract

Cotton textiles (CTs) are in high demand for antimicrobial applications. Traditional approaches often struggle to achieve antibacterial and antifungal efficacy simultaneously. Herein, organosilicon quaternary ammonium salt (QAS/AEM-5700, a contact bactericidal agent) and organosilicon borneol ester (SBA, a stereochemical anti-adhesive agent) are covalently co-grafted onto CT surfaces via siloxane hydrolytic condensation, generating a synergistic antimicrobial coating (CT-A/S) that integrates both offensive and defensive functionalities. The as-prepared CT-A/S exhibits excellent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Aspergillus niger (A. niger), with antimicrobial rates approaching 100%. Owing to the covalent immobilization, the CT-A/S demonstrates outstanding laundering durability. This strategy not only overcomes the deficiency of QAS-modified CT in mold resistance, but also addresses the limitation of borneol ester in contact-based bacterial killing. Furthermore, an in vivo mice infection model validates the antibacterial and anti-infective efficacy of the coating, offering a promising approach for the long-term antimicrobial protection of healthcare textiles.

Keywords

Quaternary ammonium salt / Organosilicon borneol ester / Cotton textile / Antimicrobial coating / Synergistic effect

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Jilin University, The Editorial Department of Chemical Research in Chinese Universities and Springer-Verlag GmbH

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