Antibacterial efficacy of cotton fabrics chemically modified by metal salts

Abstract

The antibacterial activity of cotton fabrics chemically modified by some metal salt (metal ions) such as Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+ and Zn2+ was investigated. The increase of the amount of adsorbed metal and the increase of anhydrous succinic acid concentrations was correlated. Zn2+ ion-adsorption was the highest, followed by Fe2+ Cu2+ and Fe3+ with the same amount of anhydrous succinic acid. The antibacterial activity of Cu2+-treatment against Staphylococcus aureus was the most effective. Zn2+-treatment possessed a great antibacterial activity against S. aureus even when the amount of adsorbed metal was the lowest. Cotton fabric treated with Cu2+possessed the most effective antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae and that treated with Zn2+, Fe2+ and Fe3+ possessed a slight antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity of 4 kinds of metal-treated fabrics was higher than that of commercial antibacterial and deodorant fabrics, when the amounts of anhydrous succinic acid used was more than 1.0 g/g fabric. In particular, the Cu2+-treatment on cotton fabrics was more effective than that of commercial treatments. These findings suggest that antibacterial activity could be improved by treatment with metal salt on cotton fabrics.