Preparation of cotton fibers with antibacterial silver nanoparticles

Abstract

A chelating monomer, glycidyl methacrylate–iminodiacetic acid (GMA–IDA), was grafted onto cotton fibers to form cotton fiber-graft-GMA–IDA (CFGI). The quantity of GMA–IDA grafting on CFGI was dependent on the concentration of GMA–IDA solution in the reaction system. The weight of Ag + adsorbed by CFGI increased with increasing the amount of GMA–IDA on CFGI. After the CFGI–Ag + complexes were irradiated by ultraviolet lamp, scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer confirmed that CFGI/silver nanocomposites were prepared successfully. As the weight of Ag + adsorbed by CFGI increased, the diameter of the Ag nanoparticles increased. The cotton fibers containing Ag nanoparticles with an average size of 75 nm exhibited high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli.