ABSTRACT:Cotton and cotton/polyester fabrics were treated against microbial attack by applying a formulation based essentially on ZnO under high-energy radiation and thermal curing. To achieve the homogeneity and the reactivity of the treating formulation, a binder (Impron MTP) and a dispersing agent (Setamol WS) were used with ZnO. The antimicrobial property of the fabrics was evaluated, in terms of mechanical properties, by a soil burial test. Moreover, the effect of antimicrobial finishing on the dyeing properties in terms of color strength was investigated. It was found that the best composition that affords the best antimicrobial protection to cotton fabrics contains 2% ZnO, 2% binder, and 1% dispersing agents. For the cotton/polyester blend, the best results were achieved at the same conditions except the ZnO was 1%. It was found that the treatment under the effect of electron-beam irradiation is better than that of gamma irradiation and thermal curing. The results showed that when the finishing process was carried out before dyeing with a reactive dye, it affects the color strength rather than performing the finishing after the dyeing process.
Cotton and cotton/polyester fabrics were treated with a proposed antimicrobial formulation based on zinc oxide (ZnO), Impron MTP (binder), and Setamol WS (dispersing agent) under the effect of ␥ irradiation. The effect of this treatment on the growth of certain bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) and fungi (Aspergillus niger) was studied. In general, it has been confirmed that ZnO ratio is an inhibitory factor on the growth of both microbes. As a result of treatment of cotton fabrics, as an example, the B. subtilis counts were decreased by 4 log cycles whereas the A. niger count was decreased by 2 log cycles. This finding was illustrated by observing the surface microstructure of the fabrics after they had been buried in a moist soil for two weeks. The deterioration in the weaving structure of the nontreated was so strong that it could not distinguish the strings forming the fabric. On the basis of microbial detection, it was found that the treatment with ZnO formulation causes a net reduction in the bacterial cells amounts to 78 and 62% in the case of treated cotton and cotton/polyester fabrics while the net reduction in the fungi was calculated to be 80.7 and 32%, respectively. However, it was found that the treatment with ZnO formulation caused a reduction in the thermal stability of the fabrics as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis.
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