Abstract
The anti-bacterial characteristics of different nano-structured metal and metal oxides modified cotton fabrics were investigated. In this study, silver metal, copper, zinc and magnesium oxides have been supported on bleached cotton fabrics. Reduction, wet method, sol gel and precipitation methods were used in the preparation of the antibacterial nanoparticles (NPs). The preparation of the antibacterial-loaded cotton was carried out in-situ and ex-situ by pad dry methods. Formation of the supported nanoparticles was confirmed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy studies (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analyses. Antibacterial studies on the supported nanoparticles were done on gram positive (Bacillus and S. aureus) and gram negative (E-coli) bacteria by agar diffusion method. The loaded antibacterial nanoparticles are effective against the bacteria under investigation. Under the given experimental conditions, the maximum inactivation performances of each loaded inorganic agent were investigated. The loaded fabrics show the following antibacterial performance order against Bacillus: Ag=CuO>ZnO>MgO. However, the activity order is CuO>Ag>ZnO=MgO against S.aureus and E.coli. The inactivation performances depend on the type, purity and the amount of antibacterial nanoparticles on the textile surfaces.
Highlights
Inorganic materials such as metal and metal oxides have extensively considered as promising antibacterial agents.[1,2,3,4,5] Several kinds of metals and metal oxides posses obvious killing abilities to most microbes even at very low concentrations.[6]
Silver metal, copper, zinc and magnesium oxides have been supported on bleached cotton fabrics
The zero antibacterial activity of ZnO toward S. aureus and E. coli is probably due to its low purity as previously indicated by the x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses
Summary
Inorganic materials such as metal and metal oxides have extensively considered as promising antibacterial agents.[1,2,3,4,5] Several kinds of metals and metal oxides posses obvious killing abilities to most microbes even at very low concentrations.[6] Different metal, oxide or salt compounds, mostly based on silver, copper, zinc and magnesium kill microbes by binding to intracellular proteins and inactivating them. These materials can react with cell enzymes leading to either generating or catalyzing reactive oxygen species. There is a growing awareness of the use of antibacterial fabrics in the form of medical clothes, protective garments, and bed spreads to minimize the chance of the nosocomial infections
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