Development of Antimicrobial Multifunctional Textiles to Avoid from Hospital-Acquired Infections

The objectives of the present study were to develop the environmental friendly, low price, easy and fast method for developing the antibacterial cuprous oxide coated multifunctional fabrics. At first, fabrics were sensitized with citric acid then the formation of Cu2O particles was done by Fehling solution method. In second step, the cuprous oxide particles were deposited on cotton fabrics. Three different types of reducing agents with different concentrations were selected to make the Cu2O particles. Surface morphology and presence of metals were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, FTIR, EDS and XRD. The antibacterial activity of cuprous oxide coated fabrics was tested against qualitative and quantitative measurements. The strongest antibacterial effect was found for the fabrics coated with cuprous oxide particles reduced with sodium hydrosulphite at 1 g/l. Furthermore, the utility of hygienic antimicrobial developed fabrics were analysed for the comfort properties regarding air permeability and stiffness. At the end, durability of coating was confirmed by measuring the antibacterial properties and SEM analysis after washing.