Abstract
Medical textiles are one of the most rapidly growing parts of the technical textiles sector in the textile industry. This work aims to investigate the medical applications of a curcumin/TiO2 nanocomposite fabricated on the surface of cotton fabric. The cotton fabric was pretreated with three crosslinking agents, namely citric acid, 3-Chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (Quat 188) and 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS), by applying the nanocomposite to the modified cotton fabric using the pad-dry-cure method. The chemistry and morphology of the modified fabrics were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the chemical mechanism for the nanocomposite-modified fabric was reported. UV protection (UPF) and antibacterial properties against Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli bacterial strains were investigated. The durability of the fabrics to 20 washing cycles was also examined. Results demonstrated that the nanocomposite-modified cotton fabric exhibited superior antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria and excellent UV protection properties. Moreover, a good durability was obtained, which was possibly due to the effect of the crosslinker used. Among the three pre-modifications of the cotton fabric, Quat 188 modified fabric revealed the highest antibacterial activity compared with citric acid or GPTMS modified fabrics. This outcome suggested that the curcumin/TiO2 nanocomposite Quat 188-modified cotton fabric could be used as a biomedical textile due to its antibacterial properties.
Highlights
Nowadays, one of the most promising fields of new textile materials is the manufacturing of antimicrobial-acting medical textiles
We developed materials based on the fabrication of curcumin/TiO2 nanocomposite on the surface of cotton fabric via the pad-dry-cure method
Cotton fabric was modified with different crosslinkeres, namely citric acid, Quat 188 and GPTMS
Summary
One of the most promising fields of new textile materials is the manufacturing of antimicrobial-acting medical textiles. Chemical materials such as phenols, nitro compounds, and formaldehyde derivatives, have been extensively used in the manufacturing of antibacterial medical textiles [1,2,3,4]. Fabric modification with nanomaterials designed for enhancing textile properties, such as antibacterial properties [7,9], UV protection [10] wound healing, self-cleaning and military application [11,12], is widely used. In this process, nanoparticles may be incorporated into fabrics for medical applications without affecting their textile properties. Incorporation of antimicrobial agents in the form of nanoparticles can exhibit high levels of antimicrobial activity as well as excellent durability (both in usage and by repetitive laundering cycles), which is much more superior to metal salts or adsorbed quaternary ammonium compounds that operate by leaching from the treated fabrics and are often reduced by laundering [13,14]
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