Well-defined polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel was synthesized on the surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film via surface-initiated activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ARGET-ATRP). Following the deposition of an ATRP initiator (2bromoisobutyrylbromide) on PET film, PAM hydrogel was grafted from the functionalized PET surface via ARGET-ATRP. XPS and FTIR-ATR confirmed that PAM hydrogel was successfully grafted on the PET surface. Results from AFM, SEM, and FTIR-FPA microscopic investigations showed that PAM hydrogel uniformly covers the surface of PET film. The grafting yield increases linearly with increasing reaction time, indicating that the growth of PAM hydrogel on the surface of PET is well controlled. In a cell adhesion assay, PAM hydrogel grafted PET films (PAM hydrogel-g-PET) showed low adhesion to keratinocyte cells. To impart PAM hydrogel-g-PET with antibacterial function, AgNPs were self-assembled along the amide side chains of PAM hydrogel. AgNPs loaded-PAM hydrogel-g-PET shows 99% reduction in the number of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa within 3 h contact. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.