Povidone–Iodine-Based Polymeric Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Applications

As microbial contamination is becoming more and more serious, antibacterial agents play an important role in preventing and removing bacterial pathogens from microbial pollution in our daily life. To solve the issues with water solubility and antibacterial stability of PVP–I2 (povidone–iodine) as a strong antibacterial agent, we successfully obtain hydrophobic povidone–iodine nanoparticles (povidone–iodine NPs) by a two-step method related to the advantage of nanotechnology. First, the synthesis of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone-co-methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles, i.e., P(NVP-MMA) NPs, was controlled by tuning a feed ratio of NVP to MMA. Then, the products P(NVP-MMA) NPs were allowed to undergo a complexation reaction with iodine, resulting in the formation of a water-insoluble antibacterial material, povidone–iodine NPs. It is found that the feed ratio of NVP to MMA has an active effect on morphology, chemical composition, molecular weight, and hydrophilic–hydrophobic properties of the P(NVP-MMA) copolyme...