Mussel-inspired coordination functional polymer brushes-decorated rGO-stabilized silver nanoparticles composite for antibacterial application

Functionalized GO nanosheets and their nanohybrids are demonstrated to have promising biomedical applications. In this article, we design and prepare a novel catechol-terminated copolymer (CCP) containing poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and 2,3-epithiopropyl methacrylate (ETMA) segments via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization. The coordination functional CCP can be easily attached to the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through mussel-inspired chemistry under mild conditions. The obtained two-dimensional CCP-rGO nanosheets are utilized as a platform to construct a CCP-rGO supported well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles composite (CCP-rGO-Ag) through in situ reduction. The as-prepared CCP-rGO-Ag nanocomposite has powerful and long-lasting antibacterial activity against G− (E. coli) and G+ (S. epidermidis and S. aureus). Compared with rGO-Ag without polymer modification, CCP-rGO-Ag has lower cytotoxicity and excellent performance due to the introduction of a hydrophilic coordination polymer. Overall, our study reveals a novel method of preparing copolymer brushes-modified rGO-based antibacterial nanomaterials and provides a feasible strategy to fight bacterial resistance threats to human health.