Invited
Rechargeable antimicrobial nanoparticles for antibiofilm applications

Biofilm formation is a serious problem due to their increased resistance to killing compared to free-living bacteria. This has prompted the search for agents that can inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm formation. One major challenge in developing agents that inhibit biofilm formation is their long-term stability. One possible solution is to develop rechargeable compounds that can be easily renewed. In the current study, we synthesized rechargeable N-halamine-derivatized cross-linked polymethacrylamide nanoparticles (NPs). The chlorinated NPs demonstrated remarkable stability to organic reagents and to repetitive bacterial loading cycles as compared with the common disinfectant NaOCl, which was extremely labile under these conditions. The antibacterial mechanism of the cross-linked P(MAA-MBAA)-Cl NPs involved the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) only upon exposure to organic media / bacteria, revealing that the mode of action is target-specific. Finally, as a proof-of-concept of our technology P(MAA-MBAA)-Cl NPs embedded within irrigation drippers were shown to prevent fouling on them compared with the control for several months, hence providing the drippers with `self-cleaning` and `self-sterilizing` properties. Our findings underscore the potential of developing sustainable and rechargeable NPs-based devices for inhibiting bacterial colonization and growth.