Antimicrobial N-brominated hydantoin and uracil grafted polystyrene beads

Abstract Hydantoin-N-halamine derivatives conjugated on polystyrene beads are promising disinfectants with broad antimicrobial activity affected by the gradual release of oxidizing halogen in water. The objective of this work was to identify and test of hydantoin-like molecules possessing urea moiety, which may provide N-haloamines releasing oxidizing halogens when exposed to water at different rates and release profiles for tailored antimicrobial agents. In this work, several hydantoin (five member ring) and for the first time reported, uracil (six member ring) derivatives have been conjugated to polystyrene beads and tested for their lasting antimicrobial activity. Four molecules of each series were conjugated onto polystyrene beads from the reaction of the N-potassium hydantoin or uracil derivatives onto chloromethylated polystyrene beads. A distinct difference in bromine loading capacity and release profiles was found for the different conjugated derivatives. All tested materials exhibit strong antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and bacteriophages MS2 of 7 and ~ 4 log reduction, respectively. These results highlight the antimicrobial potential of halogenated cyclic molecules containing urea groups as water disinfection agents.