Dyeing of wool with antibiotics to develop novel infection resistance materials for extracorporeal end use

Abstract

AbstractTwo antibiotics, doxycycline (Doxy) and ciprofloxacin (Cipro), were applied under a variety of conditions to wool and to hydrolyzed wool at 40°C. Nylon was used as a synthetic control. Sorption of Doxy was much higher in wool than in nylon, whereas sorption of Cipro was similar in both fibers. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed that a drastic increase in sorption of antibiotics by hydrolyzed wool was attributed to an increase in polar functional groups by peptide scission and in oxidized sulfur groups by cystine oxidation. Both sorption and zone of inhibition (ZOI) values were improved by hydrolysis of wool. Wool hydrolyzed for 20 or 40 min at 40°C and dyed with Doxy at 45°C for 3.5 h maintained around 30 mm of ZOI after 24 h of challenge by a simulated flow of blood. Wool hydrolyzed for 60 min at 40°C and dyed with Cipro at 45°C for 3.5 h also maintained its antibiotic activity for an extended time. For the most part, ZOI values for nylon dyed by both antibiotics were zero within 24 h. This technique produced infection‐resistant biomaterials of potential use in extra‐corporeal biomedical and biological applications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3343–3354, 2004