Low temperature plasma for textiles disinfection

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of low temperature plasma (LTP) disinfection and its impact on cotton, linen, and silk. Research included: optimization of LTP parameters (time: 5, 10 min, gases: oxygen, nitrogen, argon and their mixtures); antimicrobial effectiveness of LTP for artificially aged and 19th-20th century textiles; impact of LTP on the mechanical, optical and structural (SEM, FTIR) textiles properties, and their susceptibility to colonization by microorganisms after LTP. The effectiveness of LTP disinfection was evaluated for the following microorganisms: Streptomyces sp., Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonans fluorescens (silk), Aspergillus niger, Penicillium funiculosum and Trichoderma viride (cotton and linen). LTP for 10 min with oxygen provided the highest antimicrobial effect, and the number of microorganisms was reduced by 1–4-fold on the logarithmic scale (R = 69.64–99.99%), depending on the strain and textile. LTP increased textiles’ breaking strength. LTP did not caused significant changes in molecular structure of the fiber-forming polymers (cellulose and fibroin). In addition, it also lightened the colour and microdamaged the disinfected textiles. Nevertheless, LTP prevented microorganisms from colonizing the textiles for up to 21 days. Thus, this method can be a suitable alternative to currently used disinfection methods for textile, but should be used carefully for historical textiles.