Durable antimicrobial cotton fabrics containing stable quaternarized N-halamine groups

A novel N-halamine precursor with tertiary amino group (5,5-dimethylhydantoinyl-3-ylethyl)-dimethylamine (DEADH), was synthesized and then covalently bonded onto cotton fabrics modified by 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane to form quaternarized N-halamine precursor grafted cotton fabrics which could be transferred to N-halamine structure upon exposure to dilute sodium hypochlorite solution. The grafted cotton fabrics were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscope. The antimicrobial test showed that the cotton fabrics grafted with the quaternarized N-halamine were capable of 7-log inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli O157:H7 within 1 min of contact time. Very interestingly, it was found that the grafting process and following chlorination had almost no adverse effect on the tensile strength of cotton fabrics. Furthermore, the antimicrobial cotton fabrics exhibited good washing durability and stability.     

Durable antimicrobial cotton fabric fabricated by carboxymethyl chitosan and quaternary ammonium salts

Cellulose - In this article, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and (3-carboxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride (CPTC) were used as raw materials to prepare an antibacterial cotton fabric with excellent...     

A one-step process for the antimicrobial finishing of textiles with crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles

Titanium oxide (TiO(2)) nanoparticles (NPs) in their two forms, anatase and rutile, were synthesized and deposited onto the surface of cotton fabrics by using ultrasonic irradiation. The structure and morphology of the nanoparticles were analyzed by using characterization methods such as XRD, TEM, STEM, and EDS. The antimicrobial activities of the TiO(2)-cotton composites were tested against Escherichia coli (gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) strains, as well as against Candida albicans. Significant antimicrobial effect was observed, mainly against Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the combination of visible light and TiO(2) NPs showed enhanced antimicrobial activity.     

Biocompatible antimicrobial cotton modified with tricarbimide‐based N‐halamine

Two N‐halamine precursors, 1‐glycidyl‐s‐triazine‐2,4,6‐trione and 1‐(2,3‐dihydroxypropyl)‐s‐triazine‐2,4,6‐trione, were synthesized and tethered onto cotton fabrics via the crosslinking agent 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid. The modified samples were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The modified fabrics were rendered biocidal activities upon exposure to dilute hypochlorite solutions. The chlorinated cotton swatches were challenged with Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 43895) and exhibited excellent biocidal efficacy. The stability and rechargeability of the modified samples during washing and ultraviolet irradiation were also investigated. In vitro cell cytocompatibility studies demonstrated that the antibacterial cotton has good biocompatibility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of antimicrobial properties of cotton medical textiles treated with citric acid and dried/cured by microwaves

The purpose of this study was to examine antibacterial and antifungal activity of antibacterial finish based on Citric acid on cotton medical textiles. The ability to effectively reduce the number of gram-negative, gram-positive bacteria and yeast was evaluated, specifically comparing the antibacterial activity after two different drying/curing methods. Citric acid (CA) and diethyl–tetradecyl–[3–(trimethoxysilyl)-propyl] ammonium chloride (Quat) were used for hygiene and disinfection purposes of medical textiles in this study. It was applied by pad-dry process and its fixation to cellulose hydroxyls was enhanced either by high curing temperatures or microwaves (MW). Determination of antibacterial activity of finished products was performed according to ISO 20743:2007 standard before the washing and after the 10 washing cycles. Antibacterial activity was tested against gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, gram-positive-Staphylococcus aureus and yeast, Candida albicans. Obtained results are confirming the possibility of eco-friendly CA application, for the purpose of antimicrobial finishing of cotton medical textiles. Prevention of nosocomial infections with the Citric acid is possible using both curing methods (convection and microwave) and furthermore, the treatment is durable up to 10 washing cycles. Citric acid, as one of the suitable active substances is crosslinked to the cellulose hydroxyls by the formation of ester linkages. Its antimicrobial effectiveness against the chosen microorganisms proved to be the best against S. aureus. Applied finish bath has additional crease proof effectiveness providing sufficient both antimicrobial and crease proof effectiveness, so as the durability against 10 washing cycles.     

Biomimetic superhydrophobic and highly oleophobic cotton textiles

We report a biomimetic procedure to prepare superhydrophobic cotton textiles. By in situ introducing silica particles to cotton fibers to generate a dual-size surface roughness, followed by hydrophobization with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), normally hydrophilic cotton has been easily turned superhydrophobic, which exhibits a static water contact angle of 155 degrees for a 10 microL droplet. The roll-off angle of water droplets depends on the droplet volume, ranging from 7 degrees for a droplet of 50 microL to 20 degrees for a 7 microL droplet. When a perfluoroalkyl chain is introduced to the silica particle surface, the superhydrophobic textile also becomes highly oleophobic, as demonstrated by a static contact angle of 140 degrees and a roll-off angle of 24 degrees for a 15 microL sunflower oil droplet.     

PEGylated inorganic nanoparticles

Application of inorganic nanoparticles in diagnosis and therapy has become a critical component in the targeted treatment of diseases. The surface modification of inorganic oxides is important for providing diversity in size, shape, solubility, long-term stability, and attachment of selective functional groups. This Minireview describes the role of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the surface modification of oxides and focuses on their biomedical applications. Such a PEGylation of surfaces provides "stealth" characteristics to nanomaterials otherwise identified as foreign materials by human body. The role of PEG as structure-directing agent in synthesis of oxides is also presented.     

Toward a comprehensive understanding of textiles functionalized with silver nanoparticles

This article provides a comprehensive understanding of development of textiles functionalized with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). There are three established methods to fabricate textiles functionalized with AgNPs, namely, solution‐immersion, layer‐by‐layer deposition, and sonochemical. In addition, several textile types such as cotton, wool, polyester, silk, cotton/polyester blend, polyamide, and regenerated cellulose have been used for the fabrication. The AgNP deposition mechanism on textiles is mainly due to electrostatic interaction between AgNPs and textile constituents. It was exhibited that the deposition of AgNPs on textiles can transform their textiles colors. In addition, it was demonstrated that the deposition of AgNPs on textiles is not permanent, particularly against washing treatment. Textiles modified with AgNPs have several promising applications such as antibacterial, antifungal, catalyst, electronic devices, water treatment, sun protection, air treatment, and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering, which are comprehensively discussed in this article. Future challenges in fabricating textiles functionalized with AgNPs remain on how this can be carried out to improve long‐term stabilization of AgNPs on textiles to achieve their permanent deposition by employing greener approaches.     

Durable phosphorus/nitrogen flame retardant for cotton fabric

Cellulose - A new phosphorus/nitrogen flame retardant (FR) containing reactive –P–O−NH4+ groups was synthesized from glycerol, phosphoric acid, and urea. At high temperatures, the...     

Active antibacterial coating of cotton fabrics with antimicrobial proteins

The prevention of bacteria colonization by immobilizing proteins with antimicrobial activity onto cotton fabrics was investigated. Such coatings have potential applications in medical dressing materials used in wound care and healing. Two antimicrobial proteins lysozyme and hydramacin-1 (HM-1) were surface immobilized through two linkers (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and citric acid in the presence of the water soluble carbodiimide coupling reagent 1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl)carbodiimide metho-p-toluenesulfonate. Surface composition analysis by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies confirmed formation of the protein-cellulose conjugates. Antimicrobial activities of the different functionalized surfaces were found to vary between APTES and citric acid directed coatings. Citric acid immobilized lysozyme treated samples demonstrated superior activity against Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, whereas APTES immobilized HM-1 treated samples demonstrated an advantage in inhibiting the growth of Gram-negative Escherichia coli. The antibacterial activity and stability of citric acid immobilized protein fabrics following sonication, boiling and chemical treatment were noticeably higher than that of the corresponding APTES immobilized protein fabrics. The dual coating of fibers with both antimicrobial proteins afforded efficient antimicrobial activities against both bacterial species. The results suggest that coating cotton fibers with antimicrobial proteins and peptides represents a feasible approach for developing active surfaces that prohibit growth and colonization of bacterial strains and can be potentially used in medical cotton-based fabrics.

     

Durable fluorescent cotton textile by immobilization of unique tetrahydrothienoisoquinoline derivatives

Cellulose - Due to the sensitivity for interchanging color by exposure to UV light, designing of fluorescent textiles is highly demanded to be employed in camping, military and sensing purposes....     

Cellulose fibers modified with silver nanoparticles

Cellulose fibers modified with silver nanoparticles were prepared using N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide as a direct solvent and analyzed in this study. Silver nanoparticles were generated as a product of AgNO₃ reduction by means of three methods under varying light conditions (daylight and darkroom). Influence of generating conditions on the size, the type and the number weighting of created nanoparticles was examined. Dynamic Light Scattering technique (DLS) was used for determination of those parameters. DLS analysis showed that the best method, i.e. the one that allowed the generation of the greatest number of silver nanoparticles with the smallest diameter and the smallest agglomerates, was incubation of cellulose pulp with AgNO₃ in a darkroom for 24 h. Mechanical and hydrophilic properties of all obtained fibers were also determined. Results showed that the method of silver nanoparticles generation did not influence significantly mechanical and hydrophilic properties of the modified fibers, because in all cases only small decreases of the studied parameters were observed.     

Epoxy phosphonate crosslinkers for providing flame resistance to cotton textiles

Two new monomers (2‐methyl‐oxiranylmethyl)‐phosphonic acid dimethyl ester ( 3 ) and [2‐(dimethoxy‐phosphorylmethyl)‐oxyranylmethyl]‐phosphonic acid dimethyl ester ( 6 ) were prepared and used with dicyandiamide ( 7 ) and citric acid ( 8 ) to impart flame resistance to cotton plain weave, twill, and 80:20‐cotton/polyester fleece fabrics. Monomers 3 and 6 were prepared from methallyl chloride ( 1 ) and 3‐chloro‐2‐chloromethylpropene ( 4 ) respectively via a two‐step phosphorylation epoxidation sequence in 79.3 and 67.5% overall yields. ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatographic mass spectrometry (GCMS) data were used to confirm their structures. Decomposition of monomers 3 and 6 in nitrogen by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) occurred at 110 and 220°C, respectively. The mixtures of 3 : 7 : 8 and 6 : 7 : 8 (in 2:1:1 ratio) exhibited peak‐curing temperatures by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at 125 and 150°C and the temperatures were deemed suitable for curing treated fabrics without marring them. Flame‐retardant treatments were applied by the pad‐dry‐cure methods. All untreated fabrics showed limiting oxygen index (LOI) values of about 18% oxygen in nitrogen. For formulations with monomer 3 , LOI values for the three types of treated fabrics were greater than 25.5% when add‐on values for the formulation were 17.4, 12.7, and 21.1%. For formulations comprising monomer 6 , LOI values were greater than 28.6% when add‐on values for the formulation were 18.3, 13.1, and 16.7%. With the formulation comprising monomer 3 , the three fabrics passed the vertical flame test when add‐on values were 21.6, 12.7, and 23.5%, respectively; and with the formulation comprising monomer 6 , they passed the vertical flame test when add‐on values were 13.8, 8.4, and 18.0%. In all cases char lengths of fabrics that passed the vertical flame test were less than 50% of original length and after‐flame time was 0 sec and after‐glow time was less than 2 sec. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shell structure of inorganic nanoparticles

A method for calculation of the size properties of nanoparticles M _N and M _N ⁺ (M = Na, K, Rb, Cs, Ag, Au, B, Al, In, Ta; M⁺ = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, Hg) has been suggested. Excited states of M atoms are shown to have an effect on the structural organization of nanoparticles.     

Redox properties of inorganic nanoparticles

The redox potentials E°(M₁₄₇) (M = Au, Cu) were calculated on the basis of the shell model with inclusion of hybridized electronic configurations of atoms. The prospects for studying E°(M _N ) for nanoparticles of other d metals were outlined.     

Shell model of inorganic nanoparticles

We describe the theoretical study of chemical and physical properties of inorganic nanoparticles consisting of 3d, 4d and 5d atoms in the frame of shell model. The important ingredient of our study is the size dependent evolution of electronic properties of shells depending on the electron structure of atoms. The various properties of nanoparticles have been considered-ionization potentials and electron affinity, electrochemical, magnetic, structural properties and equilibrium volumes, electric conductance, melting points, cohesive energies and compressibility. Finally, we study the phase transitions in nanoparticles: insulator-metal, magnetnon-magnet.     

Hydroxylation of fullerenes modified with iron nanoparticles

The possibility was explored for synthesizing polyhydroxylated fullerenes directly from soot containing iron nanoparticles stabilized by carbon shell.     

ZnO-TiO2 hybrid nanocrystal-loaded,wash durable,multifunction cotton textiles

Life-threatening diseases, especially those caused by pathogens and harmful ultraviolet radiation (UV-R), have triggered increasing demands for comfortable, antimicrobial, and UV-R protective clothing with a long service life. However, developing such textiles with exceptional wash durability is still challenging. Herein, we demonstrate how to fabricate wash durable multifunctional cotton textiles by growing in situ ZnO-TiO₂ hybrid nanocrystals (NCs) on the surface of cellulosic fabrics. The ZnO-TiO₂ hybrid NCs presented high functional efficiency, owing to their high charge transfer/separation. Ultrafine fiber surface pores, utilized as nucleating sites, endowed the uniform growth of NCs and their physical locking. The resulting fabrics presented excellent UV protection factors up to 54, displayed bactericidal efficiency of 100% against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and optimum self-cleaning efficacy. Moreover, the functionalized textiles exhibited robust washing durability, maintaining antibacterial and anti-UV-R efficiency even after 30 extensive washing cycles.

Graphical abstract

     

Light-activated hybrid organic/inorganic antimicrobial coatings

Light-activated antimicrobial coatings were obtained by the covalently immobilizing photo-sensitizers in a hybrid organic/inorganic matrix. These coatings were deposited via sol-gel chemistry using epoxy and methyl functional silanes. The light-activated chromophores used in this study were Methylene Blue, Toluidine Blue O, and Rose Bengal. The immobilized photo-sensitizers did not leach from the coatings. The mechanically durable hybrid coatings comprising 2.5% by weight of Rose Bengal had a good adhesion to the glass surface. These coatings were tested for the photo-deactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using illumination by a commercial fluorescent lamp. Log reduction of E. coli and S. aureus were >4 when illuminated by the fluorescent lamp in 1 and 3?h, respectively. Due to its high mechanical durability and chemical resistance, such light-activated hybrid coatings are promising candidates for indoor applications in healthcare facilities.

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