Antimicrobial Properties of Cotton and Polyester/Cotton Fabrics Treated with Natural Extracts

K.B. Ravindra, Y.N. Dinesh and S.M. Chandra Sekhara

Background and Objective: Increased awareness about the hygienic lifestyle of present consumers led to the development of a range of textile products finished with antimicrobial properties. The present study focuses on the evaluation of the antimicrobial properties of cotton and polyester/cotton blend fabrics treated with bioactive agents. Materials and Methods: Antimicrobial compound extracted from neem and eucalyptus leaves was used for imparting antibacterial property to the test fabrics. The natural extracts at a concentration of 5 and 10% (owf) were applied on fabrics by the pad-dry-cure process. For fixation of extracts, Glutaraldehyde (8%) as cross-linking agent along with Sodium hypophosphite (2%) as catalyst was used. Qualitative and Quantitative analysis was carried out to measure the antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Results: The results showed that the overall reduction of bacterial growth for treated fabrics (at 10% concentration) was more than 80 and 75% against Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli), respectively and after 10 standard washes, the activity was reduced by 15-20%. Conclusion: Phytochemical analysis of extracts confirmed the presence of bioactive compounds such as Salannin, Nimbin, Azadirachtin in neem extract and Tannins, Phenolic compounds, Flavonoids in eucalyptus extract.

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