Improving the antibacterial activity of cotton fabrics finished with triclosan by the use of 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid and citric acid

Abstract

For producing antibacterial textiles, the conventional finishing processes have high productivity and low processing costs, but textiles finished in these ways exhibit low durability against laundering. Therefore, cotton fabrics were bleached with hydrogen peroxide, finished with triclosan, and then treated with polycarboxylic acids such as 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) and citric acid (CA) as crosslinking agents to provide durable antibacterial properties. The surface of fibers treated with BTCA had a greater crosslinked area, and the surfaces of fabrics treated with CA were exposed to greater amounts of deformation due to the mechanical and chemical influences after 50 launderings. The bleaching and finishing treatments did not dramatically affect the breaking strength. However, the polycarboxylic acid treatment (both BTCA and CA) alone showed reductions in the breaking strength when the acid concentration was increased. The polycarboxylic acids were fairly effective against both bacteria, even at lower concentrations, when they were applied to stand-alone cotton fabrics, whereas the antibacterial activity decreased somewhat after the use of polycarboxylic acid and triclosan in the same recipes. Adding polycarboxylic acids to the antibacterial finishing recipes enhanced the durability after 50 launderings, and the durability of the recipes containing BTCA was much higher than that of the recipes containing CA.

Functionalization of cotton with poly-NiPAAm/chitosan microgel. Part I. Stimuli-responsive moisture management properties

“…Several studies have shown that cellulosic esterification by polycarboxylic acids takes place in two phases. In the first phase a cyclic anhydride is formed (Yang et al 1998), which forms an ester with the hydroxyl group (-OH) in the cellulose macromolecule (Orhan et al 2009;Sauperl and Stana-Kleinschek 2010). This is followed by formation of a second anhydride that subsequently reacts with another cellulose hydroxyl.…”

Biopolymer-based Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Systems for Functional Finishing of Textiles

“…Several studies have shown that cellulosic esterification by polycarboxylic acids takes place in two phases. According to Yang & Xu (1998), in the first phase a cyclic anhydride is formed, which forms an ester with the hydroxyl group (-OH) in the cellulose macromolecule (Orhan et al, 2009;Sauperl & Stana-Kleinschek, 2010). This is followed by formation of a second anhydride that subsequently reacts with another cellulose hydroxyl.…”

Antibacterial Modification of Textiles Using Nanotechnology

“…As the widespread use of triclosan could represent a potential risk in terms of the development of resistant microorganisms [39], strong binding to solid surfaces with subsequent controlled release is important. Triclosan has therefore been applied to cellulose fibers in combination with polycarboxylic acids as crosslinking agents [40]. The application of polycarboxylic acid to fibers previously finished with triclosan enhances the washing durability of the antimicrobial coating.…”