Abstract
Rechargeable disinfectant performance of a microfiber fabric grafted with a halamine precursor, 3-allyl-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (ADMH), was tested in an actual use situation in a university student dining hall. The precursor was successfully incorporated onto the surfaces of polyester fibers by using a radical graft polymerization process through a commercial finishing facility. The N–H bonds of ADMH moieties on the fibers can be converted to biocidal N–Cl bonds, when the fabrics are washed in a diluted chlorine bleach containing 3000 ppm available chlorine, providing a refreshable disinfectant function. By wiping the surfaces of 30 tables (equivalent to 18 m2) with wet chlorinated fabrics, both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in concentrations of 105 CFU/mL were totally killed in a contact time of 3 min. The disinfectant properties of the fabrics were still superior after 10 times successive machine washes (equivalent to fifty household machine washes), and rechargeable after wiping 30 tables before each recharge. Recharging conditions, such as temperature, time, active chlorine concentration and pH value of sodium hypochlorite solution, as well as the addition of a detergent, were studied. The product has the potential to improve public safety against biological contaminations and the transmission of diseases.
Highlights
Bacterial transmissions in air and their colonization on surfaces contribute significantly to outbreaks of infectious diseases, and are a great threat to public health [1,2,3]
Because the fabrics are made of PET/nylon filaments, characteristic carbonyl bands of ADMH are similar to the bands of the polymers, but, after subtracting spectrum a from c, some peaks appeared in the resulting spectrum
This is the evidence that the antibacterial precursor has been grafted on the fabrics successfully
Summary
Bacterial transmissions in air and their colonization on surfaces contribute significantly to outbreaks of infectious diseases, and are a great threat to public health [1,2,3]. Surface contaminations by microorganisms are a major cause of transmission of infectious diseases [4]. Contact transmissions of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are the major causes of MRSA spread from hospitals to public spaces [5,6]. A common practice to control and reduce disease transmission in healthcare facilities and public spaces is to disinfect contaminated surfaces with a bleach and wipe with a cloth. Reusable microfiber wipes and mops have been widely adopted by these facilities, which are able to adsorb dusts, particles, and microbes effectively because of their large surface areas [7,8,9,10,11,12]. Biocidal and chlorine bleach rechargeable microfiber cloth could be an ideal reusable disinfecting material for cleaning surfaces of furniture, computer keyboards, and even floors. Most commercially available microfiber wipes do not have any disinfectant ability
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