Antimicrobial Properties of Chitosan-Modified Cotton Fabric Treated with Aldehydes and Zinc Oxide Particles

Abstract

Chitosan is a natural biopolymer with a proven ability to impart textile materials with antimicrobial properties when loaded onto them. The mechanism of its bacteriological activity depends on the contact between the positive and negative charges of the amino groups located on the surface of the microbes. Unfortunately, the type of microorganisms and pH influence this action–shortcomings that can be avoided by chitosan modification and by loading its film with substances possessing antimicrobial properties. In this study, chitosan was modified with benzaldehyde and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde to form a film on the surface of cotton fabric (CB). Also, another material was obtained by including zinc oxide particles (CBZ) synthesized in situ into the chitosan coating. The performed analyses (contact angle measurement, optical and scanning electron microscopy, FTIR, XRD, and thermal analysis) evidenced the modification of the cotton fabric and the alteration of the film properties after zinc oxide inclusion. A comparison of the antimicrobial properties of the new CB with materials prepared with chitosan without benzaldehyde from our previous study verified the influence of the hydrophobicity and surface roughness of the fabric surface on the enhancement of antimicrobial activity. The microbial growth inhibition increased in the following order: fungal strain Candida lipolytica >Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus cereus >Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The samples containing zinc oxide particles completely inhibited the growth of all three model strains. The virucidal activity of the CB was higher against human adenovirus serotype 5 (HAdV-5) than against human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV-S2) after 60 min of exposure. The CBZ displayed higher virucidal activity with a Δlog of 0.9 against both viruses.

Field Study of Activity of Antimicrobial Polypropylene Textiles

“…In this study, a combination of two approaches of mitigation of transfer of pathogens described in the literature was chosen: substitution of usually used textiles woven using continuous filament polypropylene yarn-based fabric as described in [7] and doping of the polymer used with antimicrobial properties, such as described in [2,12,13,17,18] and others. Additionally, the impact of such textiles was verified and quantified in real-life conditions in a medical facility with frequent movement of staff and patients.…”

“…In fact, textile surfaces such as curtains and upholstery have been found to be contaminated over time in healthcare settings and host pathogens for up to 90 days [9]. To mitigate these risks, textiles utilizing new biocidal treatments are developed by many researchers, utilizing, for example, metallic nanoparticles, plasma treatments [10], new organic biocidal substances [11], and their combinations with inorganic nanoparticles [12]. However, new biocides have to comply with relevant regulations [13]; thus, their application in the near future is limited to prototypes.…”