Antimicrobial textiles materials

A great contribution to R D of antimicrobial materials gave researchers fi-om Japan, USA, Switzerland, Great Britain, Russia, Poland, Austria and France. However, the greatest contribution undoubtedly belongs to Japanese, in this moment presenting world leaders in manufacturing of antimicrobial textile materials [1-20]. 

From these results it is obvious that antimicrobial textile material demonstrates an inhibitory activity towards all indicatory microorganisms. The strongest effect is observed with P.Aeruginosa and C.Albicans. The widths of inhibition zcmes slightly decrease with the time the sample spend in physiological solution before qq>lication on selected strains of bacteria. 

P Skundric, A Medovic, Lj Simovic, S Dimitrijevic, M Kostic, M Janicijevic, B Milakovic, Boimedical antimicrobial textile materials of broad spectrum activity , V... 

Protective medical textiles, such as gowns, gloves, face masks and wound dressings, reduce the risks of exposure to disease by acting as barriers to infectious agents. However, there is mounting evidence that the level of protection provided is not adequate. Textile materials with antimicrobial properties can be made by chemically or... 

The increasing occurrence of microbial and nosocomial infection has stimulated research activities into antimicrobial polymers and textiles [19, 25, 34]. Most medical textiles and polymeric materials used in hospitals are conductive to crosstransmission of diseases, as most microorganisms can survive on these materials for hours to several months [17, 26]. Thus, it would be advantageous for polymeric surfaces and textile materials to exhibit antibacterial properties so as to reduce and prevent disease transmission and cross-contamination within and from hospitals. N-halamines exhibit a similar antimicrobial potency to chlorine bleach, one of the most widely used disinfectants, but they are much more stable, less corrosive and have a considerably reduced tendency to generate halogenated hydrocarbons, making them attractive candidates for the production of antimicrobial polymeric materials. N-halamine compounds are currently used as antimicrobial additives to produce polymers with antimicrobial and biofilm-limiting activities. 

Rajendran, S., Anand, S.C., 2001. In Development of a Versatile Antimicrobial Finish for Textile Materials for Healthcare and Hygine Applications, Proceedings, Medical Textiles 99 Conference, 24—25 August, Bolton, UK. Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Cambridge... 

The agar diffusion method (Kirby—Bauer) is also sometimes used for the evaluation of antibacterial activity of textiles. This is a relatively quick and easily executed semiquantitative method to determine antibacterial activity of diffusible antimicrobial agents on treated textile material. The bacteria are grown in nutrient broth medium and after appropriate dilution (e.g., lOOx) from the culture, test organisms are swabbed over the surface of agar plates. Ten-millimetre-diameter disks of the test fabric and control fabric are then gently pressed onto the surface of the plate. The plates are then incubated at 37 °C for 18—24 h. The antibacterial activity of the fabrics is demonstrated by the diameter of the zone of inhibition in comparison to the control textile sample. 

Rajendran S, Anand SC. Development of a versatile antimicrobial finish for textile materials for healthcare and hygiene applications. In Medical textiles proceedings of the international conference 24—25 August 1999. 

It is known that textiles carry and transmit infections from one person to another through clothing, bedding and related textile products used in hospitals and other potentially risk environments, and laundering process do not remove the risk of infection. Therefore it is vifrd that textile materials with antimicrobial properties are developed by using tiie following principal techniques ... 

The discusses the antimicrobial bioactive band-aids, a modem means of wound management and healing, which are effective against a wide spectrum of microorganisms. Ion-exchange fibres and nonwoven textile materials composed of PP/viscose blend were used as a textile basis. Antimicrobial bioactive band-aids were manufactured in two routs ... 

At the Textile Engineering Department of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, an intensive research on biomedical textile materials with antimicrobial and combined effects is recently conducted. Besides antibiotics, honey and essential oils of different plants - fir, rosemary and StJohn s worth- were used to attain biological activity of medical textile materials [21-24]. 

The use of natural products such as chitosan [2] and natural dyes [3-4] for antimicrobial finishing of textile materials has been widdy reported. Other natural herbal products such as Aloe Vera, Tea Tree oil. Eucalyptus oil, Tulsi leaf (Pcimum basilicum) extracts etc. can also be used for this purpose, as there is a vast source of medicinal plants with active antimicrobial ii dients. Althoi there are many natural products rich in antimicrobial agents but tiie work on the exploration of their use in textiles is very limited and not well documented. The relatively lower incidence of adverse reactions to herbal products compared to modem synthetic pharmaceuticals, coupled with their reduced cost, can be... 

In the present scenario of environmental consciousness, the new quali requirements not only emphasise on the intrinsic functionality and long service life of the product but also a production process that is environmental iHendly. Therefore, research on environmental friendly antimicrobial agent based on natural products for textile application is gaining worldwide interest. A brief review based on the recent literature describing various natural products being explored for imparting antimicrobial properties to textile material is presented in this section. 

Due to the positively charged structural element of the quaternary molecule it has an affinity for negatively charged fabric. The antimicrobial treatment of textile material with QACs takes advantage of this phenomenon. The substantivity of QACs is extraordinarily strong to cotton which has gained anionic properties by chemical modification (Paulus, 1971). 

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