Biomimetic recyclable microgels for on-demand generation of hydrogen peroxide and antipathogenic application

Hao Meng, Michigan Technological University
Pegah Kord Forooshani, Michigan Technological University
Pratik U. Joshi, Michigan Technological University
Julie Osborne, Michigan Technological University
Xue Mi, Michigan Technological University
Christa Meingast, Michigan Technological University
Rattapol Pinnaratip, Michigan Technological University
Jonathan D, Kelley, Michigan Technological University
Ameya Narkar, Michigan Technological University
Weilue He, Michigan Technological University
Megan C. Frost, Michigan Technological University
Caryn L. Heldt, Michigan Technological University
Bruce P. Lee, Michigan Technological University

© 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc. Publisher's version of record: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2018.10.037

Abstract

Microgels that can generate antipathogenic levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through simple rehydration in solutions with physiological pH are described herein. H2O2 is a widely used disinfectant but the oxidant is hazardous to store and transport. Catechol, an adhesive moiety found in mussel adhesive proteins, was incorporated into microgels, which generated 1-5 mM of H2O2 for up to four days as catechol autoxidized. The sustained release of low concentrations of H2O2 was antimicrobial against both gram-positive (Staphylococcus epidermidis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and antiviral against both non-enveloped porcine parvovirus (PPV) and enveloped bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). The amount of released H2O2 is several orders of magnitude lower than H2O2 concentration previously reported for antipathogenic activity. Most notably, these microgels reduced the invectively of the more biocide resistant non-envelope virus by 3 log reduction value (99.9% reduction in infectivity). By controlling the oxidation state of catechol, microgels can be repeatedly activated and deactivated for H2O2 generation. These microgels do not contain a reservoir for storing the reactive H2O2 and can potentially function as a lightweight and portable dried powder source for the disinfectant for a wide range of applications.