The antibacterial effectiveness of an ultraviolet-irradiated:nylon 6,6 film was investigated for potential use as-a food-packaging material to reduce the surface microbial contamination of foods. The film-surface analyses showed that UV irradiation induced conversion of surface amide groups to amines. Irradiation also increased the dimensional scale of the film surface topography (depth: of valleys) approximately 5-fold on the scale of nanometers. The irradiated nylon demonstrated antagonistic activity against Staphylococcus aureus 25923 and Escherichia coli TV 1058 with 4.5 and 6 log reductions, respectively, of an initial population of 10(6) cfu ml(-1). The irradiated nylon was ineffective against Pseudomonas fluorescens 13525 and Enterococcus faecalis 19433 under similar conditions. The film demonstrated increased antimicrobial activity against S. aureus 25923 with increasing temperatures up to 45 degrees C, the highest temperature tested. Protein and salt inhibited the antibacterial nature of the irradiated film. Amines in solution (4.31-x 10(-8) M; the calculated equivalent of amines on the film) killed at least 1 x 10(4) cfu mL(-1) E.coli TV1058, and 4.31 x 10(-7) M amines killed up to 1 x 10(7) cfu mL(-1) E. coil TV1058. The amines in solution required similar exposure time to the bacteria for population reduction as was observed with the irradiated film. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons; Inc.