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 H-1 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. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.