Raj Rajendran

The development of multifunctional waterproof breathable coated textiles (WBCTs) with a long-lasting ultraviolet resistant, antibacterial properties is created by integrating weaving and surface coating technology. Using oxford weave, four different polyester-based jammed woven textiles structures are created from 100 % polyester, 100 % texturized polyester, polyester/viscose and polyester/cotton, and then treated with four different biopolymeric finishes viz. Neem, Tulsi, Aloe Vera and Grapeseed oil. The finished samples are then coated with two different concentration of breathable polyurethane (PU) coating. As a result, the PU coating significantly reduces the overall pore size, resulting in highest level of liquid barrier protection of Level 4 according to Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) requirements. The proposed material complies with AAMI standards and can be used in protective apparel along with healthcare applications.
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•A novel approach to develop polyester-based woven multifunctional waterproof breathable coated textiles.•Antibacterial textile made of biopolymeric Neem, Tulsi, Aloe vera, and Grapeseed oil that can sustain 50 home laundry washes.•Multifunctional protective clothing with antibacterial, liquid barrier, blood repellent, and UV protection features.•A novel approach to the develop reusable protective clothing for healthcare and hygiene applications.

The present study is aimed at evaluating the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of bael fruit shell (BFS) extract. Hot water extraction (HWE) and ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) techniques have been used to understand the effectiveness of the extraction process and its relation to impart enhanced functional property of cotton fabric. The cotton fabric has been treated with BFS extract by using padding mangle. The effectiveness of antibacterial activity against both the Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and antioxidant property has been evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results reveal that UAE-BFS treated fabric shows 93% reduction for E coli and 82% for S aureus, which is higher as compared to HWE-BFS treated fabric (91% for E coli and 61 % for S aureus). This trend has also been observed in qualitative zone of inhibition method. Antioxidant efficacy of UAE treated fabric is 86%, whereas HWE treated fabric registers 80% activity.

Healthcare and hygiene products in the medical sector uphold a prime responsibility to prevent the passage of bacteria or other harmful organisms from non-sterile to sterile areas. This has been currently possible with increased awareness and concern about the healthcare/hospital textiles. Along with protection, various products are accommodated with several functional properties such as comfort, odour-free, and hygiene aspects. This manuscript presents an insight into the development of such textiles by application of the grapeseed oil (
Vitis vinifera
L.), a by-product of the winemaking industry. The fabric structures chosen for the study are relevant to the end uses of textile products in the medical applications such as 100% texturized polyester, 100% micro-polyester, polyester/viscose, and polyester/cotton woven fabrics. All polyester fabric samples have been pre-treated with an optimized concentration of trichloroacetic acid-methylene chloride (TCA-MC) solvent and further treated with four different grapeseed oil concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20%). The antibacterial and comfort properties of the treated fabric samples have been evaluated and analysed. The treated fabric samples show the substantial antibacterial activity of 49 and 40%, respectively, against
S. aureus
and
E. coli
bacteria after 50 home laundry washing cycles.

New technologies and materials required for developing antibacterial textiles have become a subject of interest to the researchers in recent years. This study focuses on the investigation of the biopolymeric antibacterial agents, such as neem, aloe vera, tulsi and grapeseed oil, in the trichloroacetic acid-methylene chloride (TCAMC) solvent used for the pretreatment of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester fabrics. Different PET structures, such as 100% polyester, polyester/viscose, polyester/cotton and 100% texturised, are treated with four different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) of biopolymeric antibacterial finishes. The antibacterial activity of the treated samples is tested against both the Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria. Taguchi mixed orthogonal array Design L16 (4<^>3 2<^>2) is chosen for an experimental plan to determine the optimum conditions. Among all the fabric samples, the 100% polyester fabric treated with 20% grapeseed oil registers the highest antibacterial activity of 86%, and 73% against S. aureus and E. coli respectively. However, the antibacterial effect is reduced to 37%, and 34% respectively after 10 machine launderings.

The present study relates to forma self-assembled coating on cotton fabric using layer-by-layer (L-B-L) technique to impart antimicrobial property. Poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and synthesised silver loaded chitosan (CS-Ag) nanoparticles were used as anionic and cationic agents, respectively, for the L-B-L electrostatic assembly of polyelectrolytes. The alternate L B-L deposition of PSS and CS-Ag nanoparticles on fabric was done up to 15 bi-layers, which was confirmed by measuring the change in depth of colour of fabric after each single layer deposition. Scanning electron micrographs showed the successful deposition of CS-Ag nanoparticles as the topmost surface layer of coated fabric, which was further reaffirmed by X ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Results of both qualitative and quantitative analysis showed enhancement in the antibacterial activity of fabric coated L-B-L with CS-Ag nanoparticles (using minimal loading of silver) with respect to that of fabric coated L-B-L with chitosan (CS) nanoparticles. This was further substantiated by sustained release of Ag+ from fabric coated L-B-L with CS-Ag nanoparticles, as observed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Besides, no adverse effect on the physical and mechanical properties of the fabric, such as air-permeability, tensile strength and bending (flexural) rigidity, was observed after L-B-L coating of nanoparticles.

Neem oil, a natural antibacterial agent from neem tree (Azadarichtaindica) has been used to impart antibacterial activity to polyester fabrics. Solvent induced polymer modification method was used and that facilitated the easy entry of neem molecules into the compact structure of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester. The polyester fabric was treated with trichloroacetic acid-methylene chloride (TCAMC) solvent system at room temperature prior to treatment with neem oil. The concentration of TCAMC and the treatment time were optimised. XRD and SEM results showed that the TCAMC treatment causes polymer modification and morphological changes in the PET polyester. Antibacterial activity of TCAMC pre-treated and neem-oil-treated polyester fabric was tested using AATCC qualitative and quantitative methods. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms were used to determine the antimicrobial activity. It was observed that the treated fabric registers substantial antimicrobial activity against both the Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and the Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and the effect increases with the increase in concentration of TCAMC treatment. The antibacterial effect remains substantial even after 25 launderings. A kinetic growth study involving the effect of antibacterial activity at various incubation times was carried out.

The antibacterial effect of silver on knitted and nonwoven structures has been investigated. Three types of interlocked knitted fabrics (100% polyester, 100% viscose and 50%/50% polyester/viscose) were scoured and treated with silver ions by pad-dry-cure method. A nonwoven fabric (100% bleached cotton) was also treated with silver ions by using a spray technique. Physical and tensile properties of the treated fabrics were analyzed and compared with those of corresponding untreated ones. Results indicate that scouring process and antimicrobial treatment influenced the physical properties and antimicrobial effectiveness of the fabrics. An increase in tensile strength of 100% polyester and 100% viscose is observed after the antimicrobial treatment. The absorbency of all the treated knitted fabrics is decreased but it is substantially increased in the case of nonwoven fabrics. Antimicrobial activity of the treated fabrics was tested against Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The results show that the treated nonwoven and blended (50%/50% polyester/viscose) knitted fabrics registered highest antimicrobial effect.

This article investigates the use of Trichloroacetic acid-Methylene chloride (TCAMC) solvent system with a view to study the abrasive wear resistance of bamboo, cotton, organic cotton, polyester (PES), cotton/bamboo and polyester/cotton blended woven fabrics. The fabrics were treated with different concentrations of 1%, 5% and 10% of TCAMC for 5, 30 and 60 mins at room temperature. Martindale Abrasion Tester was employed to test the abrasive wear resistance of fabrics. The weight loss of fabrics was checked after every 1000 abrasive cycles. The results suggest that the bamboo fabric, without TCAMC treatment, possesses an abrasive wear resistance that is comparable to that of organic cotton fabric. However, cotton/bamboo blend fabric was found to have enhanced abrasion wear resistance than that of 100% bamboo fabric. The results also indicate that the TCAMC treatment enhanced the abrasion wear resistance of 100% bamboo and 100% organic cotton fabrics. The treatment does not influence the wear resistance of 100% cotton and its blends. The abrasive wear resistance of untreated polyester (PES) fabric was tested and compared with cellulosics and it was found that PES possessed higher abrasive wear resistance. However, the abrasive wear resistance of TCAMC treated PES decreased considerably.

In this study cotton fabrics were finished with Aloe vera gel along with 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxlic acid (BTCA) as crosslinking agent using pad-dry-cure method. The Finished fabrics were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The Infrared spectra confirmed that the active ingredients of Aloe vera gel attached with the hydroxyl groups of cotton fabric via carboxylic acid cross-linking agent. The antibacterial activity of Aloe vera finished fabrics were qualitatively evaluated by AATCC-147 method and scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique. It was observed that Aloe vera gel finished fabric has much less bacterial adhesion. The Aloe vera gel finished (concentration ≥3 % (w/v)) cotton fabric inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. The mechanism of cell death by Aloe vera gel was evaluated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM photographs suggested that the cell death is due to the destruction of bacterial cell wall. The finished fabric was also evaluated for its performance properties such as tensile strength, crease recovery angle, bending length, etc.