Surface cationization of cellulose to enhance durable antibacterial finish in phytosynthesized silver nanoparticle treated cotton fabric

Elimination of disease-causing bacteria from cotton fabrics is critically important to control several bacteria-mediated infections in humans. Antibacterial nanoparticles, particularly nanosized silver, has been explored for a wide range of antibacterial applications. Phytosynthesized nanoparticles have gained interests as a benign alternative to chemically synthesized nanoparticles. It is challenging to coat antibacterial nanoparticles on cotton fabrics to exhibit antibacterial activity as the process of washing can easily dislodge the nanoparticles from the fabric and release them into the environment, resulting in nanoparticle-mediated environmental toxicity. Thus, the aim of the present work is to develop a method that will allow effective and stable coating of cotton fabrics with green synthesized antibacterial silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) via a surface cationization process using a novel cationic agent (CHPTAC). The study showed that the AgNPs, synthesized via Dodonaea aungustifolia methanolic leaf extract, were ~ 10 nm in size and effectively coated on the cotton fabric surface using CHPTAC. The presence of about 1.37 % nitrogen in the cationized cotton fabric revealed the possible mechanism of stable AgNP coating on the fabric surface. Antibacterial test of the AgNP coated cotton fabric showed an excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, retaining 99.43 ± 2.4 % and 99.28 ± 2.2 %, respectively of antimicrobial activity with a p-value of 0.09 even after 50 washing cycles. This study is highly useful in the development of antibacterial nanomaterial-coated personal protective equipment from cotton fabric, and this will be beneficial for healthcare personnel.