Antimicrobial Studies of Knitted Fabrics from Bamboo, Soybean and Flax Fibers at Various Blends

Abstract

In the current study, the single jersey knitted fabric from natural fibers bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), soybean (Glycine max) and flax (Linum usitatissimum) at various blend ratios are prepared for comparison of physical strength and antimicrobial properties. For the general characteristic evaluations it is deduced that the fiber strength of pure flax is comparatively stronger than bamboo and soybean, whereas the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo fibers are the highest. Therefore, the blended fabric with multiple compositions for these three fibers is prepared and compared with the fabric made from individual pure fibers. In sum, the blended fabrics showed enhanced results for both antibacterial activity and strength, where the strength of flax/bamboo blended fabric with equal ratios (50/50) at higher twists and antibacterial activity of soybean/bamboo blended fabric with blend ratio 10/90 was found the best as compared to other combinations.