Cationic 4‑Vinylpyridine\nCopolymer Nanospheres\nwith Dual Active Centers for Antibacterial Coatings

To prevent the transmission of diseases caused by microorganisms,\nmore and more focus was placed on the creation of antibacterial coatings.\nIn this work, we reported a creative synthesis of antibacterial cationic\n4-vinylpyridine polymer nanospheres (CvpPMs). The nanospheres of decreasing\nsize were produced by the self-assembly of stiff polymer chains of\nstyrene (St) and cationic 4-vinylpyridine (4vp) polymer. Fourier transform\ninfrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive\nX-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),\nand dynamic light scattering (DLS) were employed to describe the CvpPMs’\nstructural morphology and other characteristics. CvpPMs were N<sup>+</sup>-surfaced cationic nanospheres that had an average diameter\nof 250 nm. After evaluation against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i>, the results showed a significant\nantibacterial rate of 98% after 72 h and, even more impressive, 95%\nafter 120 h. The synergistic interaction of amphiphilic groups (ethylsulfobetaine\nmethacrylate, SBMA) and quaternary ammonium pyridinium groups was\nresponsible for the exceptional performance of CvpPMs. In addition,\nit mimicked the N<sup>+</sup>–π interactions of adhesion,\nwhich significantly enhanced its adhesion strength, and the coatings\nalso achieved antibacterial rates of averaging over 95%. In conclusion,\nthe type of antibacterial copolymer nanospheres hopes to offer an\navenue for developing antibacterial coatings.