title: Antimicrobial wool, polyester and a wool/polyester blend created by silver particles embedded in a silica matrix.
abstract: A two-step antimicrobial finishing procedure was applied to wool (WO) and polyester (PES) fabrics and a WO/PES fabric blend, in which the pad-dry-cure method was performed to create a functional silica matrix through the application of an inorganic-organic hybrid sol-gel precursor (RB) followed by the in situ synthesis of AgCl particles on the RB-treated fibres using 0.10 and 0.50mM AgNO3 and NaCl. The bulk concentration of Ag on the cotton fibres was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activity was determined for the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the fungus Aspergillus niger. The results showed that the highest concentration of the adsorbed Ag compound particles was on the WO samples followed by the WO/PES and PES samples. The antimicrobial activity of the finished fabric samples strongly depended not only on the amount of adsorbed Ag but also on the properties of the fabric samples. Whereas Ag biocidal activity was generated for the finished PES samples at Ag particle concentrations of less than 10mg/kg, the 34-times higher Ag particle concentration on the WO samples was insufficient to impart satisfactory antimicrobial activity because Ag chemically binds to the thiol groups on wool. The presence of wool fibres in WO/PES samples decreased the antimicrobial protection of the fabric blend compared with that of the PES fabric. A lethal concentration of adsorbed Ag compound particles for bacteria and fungi was produced only through the treatment of the WO and WO/PES samples with 0.5mM AgNO3.
authors.affiliation: Department of Textiles, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Danijela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klemenčič
authors.affiliation: Department of Textiles, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Brigita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomšič
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Franci
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kovač
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Metka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Žerjav
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simončič
authors.affiliation: Department of Textiles, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Electronic address: barbara.simoncic@ntf.uni-lj.si.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Simončič
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000187:drug effects; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011091:Polyesters / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D014935:Wool / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D011091:Polyesters; D012834:Silver; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: Adsorption capacity; Antimicrobial properties; Polyester; Silver; Sol–gel; Wool