This paper critically reviews the influence of the various types of nanomaterials on the antibacterial property of the treated fabrics. The merits of each type of nanomaterial have been compared. The synthesis and application method of each type are highlighted. As the number of microorganisms is growing increasingly resistant to antibiotics, the need to treat fabrics with nano materials becomes important in order to improve the antibacterial efficacy over a range of bacterium and fungi. The various researches reported herein show a promise for wider applications in medical textiles. Nano finishes have been applied on natural materials such as cotton, wool, and silk and also synthetic materials such as PET fabrics, with interesting results. 1. Introduction Textile materials tend to act as a good medium for the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. The basic chemical constituents present in the natural fibers provide nutrition to microorganisms and thereby promote their growth. The growth of microorganisms in the textile materials cause innumerable problems such as unacceptable odor, loss of strength in fabric, and stains and, moreover, affect the health of the wearer. It is therefore important to impart antimicrobial effect on textile materials so as to protect the health of the wearer. A number of antimicrobial agents have been used in textile applications [1]. Of these silver nanoparticles have one of the best antimicrobial characteristics and cover a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms. They react with the sulfur-based proteins of the cell wall in microorganisms, inhibit with their metabolism, and thereby destroy them [2, 3]. Cotton, wool, and silk fabrics have been effectively treated with silver nanoparticles to get the desired antimicrobial efficts [4–6]. However, the use of silver nanoparticles in textile applications has its own restrictions, as particle size below 50？nm can have a harmful impact on humans and the environment [7, 8]. Inorganic materials such as metal and metal oxides have attracted lots of attention over the past decade due to their ability to withstand harsh process conditions [9, 10]. Of the inorganic materials, metal oxides such as TiO2, ZnO, MgO, and CaO are of a particular interest as they are not only stable under harsh process conditions but also generally regarded as safe materials to human beings and animals [11]. The use of nanoparticles of silver and zinc oxide has been seen as a viable solution to stop infectious diseases due to the antimicrobial properties of these nanoparticles. The intrinsic properties
References
[1]
Y. Gao and R. Cranston, “Recent advances in antimicrobial treatments of textiles,” Textile Research Journal, vol. 78, no. 1, pp. 60–72, 2008.
[2]
H. J. Lee and S. H. Jeong, “Bacteriostasis and skin innoxiousness of nanosize silver colloids on textile fabrics,” Textile Research Journal, vol. 75, pp. 551–556, 2005.
[3]
H. Y. Ki, J. H. Kim, S. C. Kwon, and S. H. Jeong, “A study on multifunctional wool textiles treated with nano-sized silver,” Journal of Materials Science, vol. 42, pp. 8020–8024, 2000.
[4]
M. L. Gulrajani, D. Gupta, S. Periyasamy, and S. G. Muthu, “Preparation and application of silver nanoparticles on silk for imparting antimicrobial properties,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 108, no. 1, pp. 614–623, 2008.
[5]
N. Vigneshwaran, A. A. Kathe, P. V. Varadarajan, R. P. Nachane, and R. H. Balasubramanya, “Functional finishing of cotton fabrics using silver nanoparticles,” Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 1893–1897, 2007.
[6]
E. Falletta, M. Bonini, E. Fratini et al., “Clusters of poly(acrylates) and silver nanoparticles: Structure and applications for antimicrobial fabrics,” Journal of Physical Chemistry C, vol. 112, no. 31, pp. 11758–11766, 2008.
[7]
M. K. Yeo and M. Kang, “Effects of nanometer sized silver materials on biological toxicity during zebrafish embryogenesis,” Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society, vol. 29, pp. 1179–1184, 2008.
[8]
P. Nagendar Reddy, E. M. Pena-Mendez, and J. Havel, “Silver or silver nanoparticles: a hazardous threat to the environment and human health?” Journal of Applied Biomedicine, vol. 6, pp. 117–119, 2008.
[9]
L. Fu, Z. Liu, Y. Liu et al., “Beaded cobalt oxide nanoparticles along carbon nanotubes: Towards more highly integrated electronic devices,” Advanced Materials, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 217–221, 2005.
[10]
S. Makhluf, R. Dror, Y. Nitzan, Y. Abramovich, R. Jelinek, and A. Gedanken, “Microwave-assisted synthesis of nanocrystalline MgO and its use as a bacteriocide,” Advanced Functional Materials, vol. 15, no. 10, pp. 1708–1715, 2005.
[11]
P. K. Stoimenov, R. L. Klinger, G. L. Marchin, and K. J. Klabunde, “Metal oxide nanoparticles as bactericidal agents,” Langmuir, vol. 18, no. 17, pp. 6679–6686, 2002.
[12]
R. M. Dickson and L. A. Lyon, “Unidirectional plasmon propagation in metallic nanowires,” Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 104, no. 26, pp. 6095–6098, 2000.
[13]
A. Yadav, V. Prasad, A. A. Kathe et al., “Functional finishing in cotton fabrics using zinc oxide nanoparticles,” Bulletin of Materials Science, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 641–645, 2006.
[14]
V. Parthasarathi and G. Thilagavathi, “Synthesis and characterization of titanium dioxide nano-particles and their applications to textiles for microbe resistance,” Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, vol. 6, no. 2, 2009.
[15]
D. P. Chattopadhyay and B. H. Patel, “Improvement in physical and dyeing properties of natural fibres through pre-treatment with silver nanoparticles,” Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 368–373, 2009.
[16]
L. Haixia, D. Hua, and Z. Jing, “Performance research of polyester fabric treated by nano titanium dioxide (N ano-TiO2) anti-ultraviolet finishing,” International Journal of Chemistry, vol. 1, p. 57, 2009.
[17]
S. Kathirvelu, L. D'Souza, and B. Dhurai, “UV protection finishing of textiles using ZnO nanoparticles,” Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 267–273, 2009.
[18]
M. Moroni, D. Borrini, L. Calamai, and L. Dei, “Ceramic nanomaterials from aqueous and 1,2-ethanediol supersaturated solutions at high temperature,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, vol. 286, no. 2, pp. 543–550, 2005.
[19]
Y. J. Kwon, K. H. Kim, C. S. Lim, and K. B. Shim, “Characterization of ZnO nanopowders synthesized by the polymerized complex method via an organochemical route,” Journal of Ceramic Processing Research, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 146–149, 2002.
[20]
R. Rajendran, C. Balakumar, M. A. Hasabo, S. Jayakumar, K. Vaideki, and E. M. Rajesh, “Use of zinc oxide nano particles for production of antimicrobial textiles,” International Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 202–208, 2010.
[21]
L. Zhang, Y. Jiang, Y. Ding et al., Journal of Nanoparticle Research, vol. 10, pp. 9711–9711, 2009.
[22]
O. Yamamoto, J. Sawai, and T. Sasamoto, “Change in antibacterial characteristics with doping amount of ZnO in MgO-ZnO solid solution,” International Journal of Inorganic Materials, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 451–454, 2000.
[23]
N. Padmavathy and R. Vijayaraghavan, “Enhanced bioactivity of ZnO nanoparticles—an antimicrobial study,” Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, vol. 9, no. 3, Article ID 035004, 2008.
[24]
T. Q. Liu, O. Sakurai, N. Mizutani, and M. Kato, “Preparation of spherical fine ZnO particles by the spray pyrolysis method using ultrasonic atomization techniques,” Journal of Materials Science, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 3698–3702, 1986.
[25]
T. Trindade, J. D. Pedrosa De Jesus, and P. O'Brien, “Preparation of zinc oxide and zinc sulfide powders by controlled precipitation from aqueous solution,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 1611–1617, 1994.
[26]
M. A. Vergés and M. M. Gallego, “Spherical and rod-like zinc oxide microcrystals: morphological characterization and microstructural evolution with temperature,” Journal of Materials Science, vol. 27, no. 14, pp. 3756–3762, 1992.
[27]
D. Chen, X. Jiao, and G. Cheng, “Hydrothermal synthesis of zinc oxide powders with different morphologies,” Solid State Communications, vol. 113, no. 6, pp. 363–366, 2000.
[28]
S. Mahamuni, K. Borgohain, B. S. Bendre, V. J. Leppert, and S. H. Risbud, “Spectroscopic and structural characterization of electrochemically grown ZnO quantum dots,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 85, no. 5, pp. 2861–2865, 1999.
[29]
A. S. M. Raja, G. Thilagavathi, and T. Kannaian, “Synthesis of spray dried polyvinyl pyrrolidone coated silver nanopowder and its application on wool and cotton for microbial resistance,” Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 59–64, 2010.
[30]
G. Thilagavathi, K. Rajendrakumar, and R. Rajendran, “Development of ecofriendly antimicrobial textile finishes using herbs,” Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 431–436, 2005.
[31]
S. Ghosh, S. Yadav, and N. Reynolds, “Antibacterial properties of cotton fabric treated with silver nanoparticles,” Journal of the Textile Institute, vol. 101, no. 10, pp. 917–924, 2010.
[32]
M. Saito, “Antibacterial, deodorizing, and UV absorbing materials obtained with zinc oxide (ZnO) coated fabrics,” Journal of Coated Fabrics, vol. 23, pp. 150–164, 1993.
[33]
N. Gokarneshan, P. P. Gopalakrishnan, and B. Jeyanthi, “Influence of various nano finishes on the functional properties of textile materials,” International Journal of Basic and Applied Chemical Sciences, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 8–24, 2012.
[34]
M. Gorensek, M. Gorjanc, V. Bukosek, K. Janez, P. Jovancic, and M. Darka, “Functionalization of PET fabrics by corona and nano silver,” Textile Research Journal, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 253–262, 2010.
[35]
ASTM Designation: E 2149-01 method, “Standard test method for determining the antimicrobial activity of immobilized antimicrobial agents under dynamic contact conditions”.
[36]
C. C. Chen, C. C. Wang, and J. T. Yeh, “Improvement of odor elimination and anti-bacterial activity of polyester fabrics finished with composite emulsions of nanometer titanium dioxide-silver particles-water-borne polyurethane,” Textile Research Journal, vol. 80, no. 4, pp. 291–300, 2010.
