N-halamine copolymers for use in antimicrobial paints.

A series of copolymers containing units of a novel hydantoinylacrylamide and the sodium salt of 2-(acrylamido)-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid have been synthesized. The homopolymer of the hydantoinylacrylamide compound was insoluble in water, while the copolymers with the sulfonic acid sodium salt were water-dispersible/soluble, with the solution becoming completely transparent when the feed ratio for the copolymer contained 7 parts of the hydantoin moiety to 3 parts of the sodium sulfonate moiety. The polymers were added into a commercial water-based latex paint, and upon drying, the painted surfaces treated with the water-miscible copolymers were rendered antimicrobial following chlorination with dilute household bleach. The chlorinated homopolymer failed to provide an antimicrobial property for the paint because of its tendency to isolate into aggregates in the paint, while the completely miscible copolymers were capable of 6-log inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli O157:H7 within 5 min of contact time.