Electrospun N-halamine/ZnO-based platform eradicates bacteria through multimodal antimicrobial mechanism of action

The emergence and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria demands powerful antibacterial tactics to combat infectious microorganisms. Enhanced combinational therapy based on synergistic hybrid antibacterial materials is a promising approach to realize effective sterilization through the rational integration of distinct bactericides into one compact platform. In this work, we constructed a microfiber-based antibacterial platform (PAM-Cl/ZnO MFs) by electrospinning N-halamine polymers (PAM-Cl) loaded with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. The as-designed PAM-Cl/ZnO MFs inherited the intrinsic antibacterial effects of both PAM-Cl microfibers (PAM-Cl MFs) and ZnO microfibers (ZnO MFs), and the material exhibited enhanced synergistic antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) in vitro. The bactericidal effect was multimodal and included contact killing based on the N–Cl bond of N-halamine, multiple-release killing, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) under light irritation, and Zn 2+ and Cl + acting as antibacterial agents. Importantly, PAM-Cl/ZnO MFs worked on inactivate bacteria even under harsh temperatures and atmospheric conditions. Additionally, PAM-Cl/ZnO MFs exhibited good biocompatibility and performed outstanding acceleration of wound healing with in vivo mouse skin defect models using S. aureus . This work advances the design of antibacterial hybrid materials with the potency to eradicate bacteria in biological systems in multiple settings through the superiority of multimodal synergistic therapy. Graphical abstract