The Application of Triclosan in antibacterial finishing on 100% cotton fabric

Abstract

The demand for antibacterial fabric has been recently increasing in the medical textiles. The fibers used in textile products, especially those made from natural fibers with a large surface area and good moisture-retention capacity, provide a favorable condition for microbial growth. They are present almost everywhere and multiply rapidly, depending on moisture, nutrients, and the environment in which they live. The growth of microorganisms on textile products has caused a series of undesirable effects, not only on the product but also on the user of the products. Cotton fabric is easy to wrinkle. When exposed to a humid environment, it is susceptible to damage caused by microorganisms. Therefore, antibacterial treatment for Cotton fabric 100% is a important requirement in the textiles and garments depending on the intended use and is a prerequisite for fabric products in the medical field. Many antibacterial agents for textiles are already known such as organo-metallics, phenols, quaternary ammonium salts. Triclosan is a popular antibacterial chemical. Triclosan is present everywhere in life from consumer products such as toothpaste, soap, detergents, toys, household appliances to cosmetics. Especially Triclosan is an antibacterial agent used quite a lot in the textile industry. Triclosan with chlorinated phenol, a synthetic chemical, is common and potential antibacterial agent. In this study, The technical parameters were investigated include Triclosan concentration, dipping time, drying temperature, citric acid concentration to evaluate the effects of treated parameters on the antimicrobial efficiencies of the 100% cotton fabrics. The results show that cotton fabrics after finishing treatment with Triclosan and applying citric acid (CA) as important bonding chemical have good antibacterial ability and also have improved durable antibacterial properties after 5 launderings. The antibacterial properties of treated cotton fabrics was evaluated based on ASTM E2149-01 standard, the experiment was done with E.Coli ATCC 25922 and S. Aureus ATCC 6538.