The antibacterial and antifungal textile properties functionalized by bimetallic nanoparticles of Ag/Cu with different structures

Abstract

We reported a preparation and characterization of five kinds of impregnation solutions, containing Ag/Cu in the form of bimetallic nanoparticles (alloy and core-shell) as well as ionic species. The cotton-polyester textiles were successfully impregnated during the washing and ironing process by as-prepared solutions to have antibacterial and antifungal properties against to Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. Moreover, we have reported the effect of type of the fabric used and number of washing/impregnation cycles (in a laboratory scale) on the bactericidal and fungicidal activity of obtained textiles. The results indicated that all tested samples after 5, 10, 15, and 20 washing/impregnated cycles exhibited an antimicrobial activity. The antifungal tests showed that only textile impregnated with solutions containing Ag+/Cu2+ and Ag NPs/Cu2+ exhibited a strong inhibition of fungi growth of the after 5 (99.99%) and 15 (100%) washing/impregnation cycles, respectively.