Macromolecular iron-chelators via RAFT-polymerization for the inhibition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus growth

A series of linear poly (glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) polymers were synthesized via RAFT polymerization and conjugated with amine-containing 3-hydroxypyridin-4-ones (HPOs) to generate a panel of HPO-containing materials with controlled structures and specific iron-binding functions. The structures of the resulting polymers were characterized via 1H NMR, GPC and FT-IR and their chelating capacity for iron was investigated using UV–Vis spectrophotometric titration of the iron(III) complexes. In vitro antimicrobial studies of selected ligand-containing homopolymers demonstrate that the homopolymers are capable of inhibiting the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It is proposed that the inhibition activity of MRSA is derived from the iron-chelating capability of the iron-binding polymers. [Display omitted] •HPO-functionalized iron chelating polymers were synthesized from RAFT-based PGMA.•The synthetic method of the resulting materials is simple with high yield and low cost.•Homopolymers were identified as new antimicrobial agents against MRSA.•This versatile synthetic procedure can be adopted to prepare a wide range of polymeric chelators.