Simple, Biocompatible Method Developed for Production of Antibacterial Cotton Fabrics | WPN World People News

The method is biocompatible due to the use of biological raw materials and the implementation of water as the solvent.

The use of chemicals and various organic solvents in the completion of the fabrics creates environmental hazards and threatens human health. On the other hand, the coating of fabrics with layers with a thickness of a few microns makes the fabrics hard and decreases the popularity of the product. The researchers were looking for a method to not only preserve the properties of cotton fabrics such as strength, hydrophilicity and softness but also to add antibacterial characteristics to it by coating nanometric layers on the fabrics.

Among the most important advantages of the proposed method, mention can be made of not using non-biological antibacterial materials, not using organic solvents, and reducing the cost of industrial heating systems due to the carrying out of the process at ambient temperature.

The proposed method is simple and cost-effective and results in the production of antibacterial cotton fabrics. Taking into consideration the use of biological materials (chitosan) as the main antibacterial substance, the development of this method will be possible to produce the fabrics at industrial scale. Results confirmed that the product can be used in medical and hygienic materials.

Results showed the direct relation between the number of deposition steps and the amount of chitosan existing in the product. The significant reduction in the growth of bacteria on the samples proves the success of the method to create antibacterial fabrics by using chitosan nanolayers.

Source: Nanotechnology Now