Advancing Antimicrobial Textiles: A Comprehensive Study on Combating ESKAPE Pathogens and Ensuring User Safety

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Microbiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, particularly ESKAPE pathogens, pose a severe global health threat.
• Antimicrobial textiles integrated into personal protective equipment (PPE) present a novel approach to curb pathogen transmission.
• Assessing the efficacy and safety of antimicrobial agents in textiles is crucial for practical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically compare the effectiveness and toxicity of five common antimicrobial agents for textile applications.
• To identify and rank optimal antimicrobial textile finishes using a multi-criteria decision-making method.
• To provide guidelines for developing effective and safe antimicrobial textiles.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of five antimicrobial agents for textile finishing.
• Toxicity and efficacy assessments of treated textiles.
• Application of the MULTIMOORA (Multi-Objective Optimization by Ratio Analysis) method for ranking antimicrobial finishes.

Main Results:

• Silver nitrate was identified as the most suitable antimicrobial agent for textile applications based on performance and safety criteria.
• A methoxy-terminated quaternary ammonium compound was found to be less favorable.
• The study established a ranking of antimicrobial finishes to guide selection.

Conclusions:

• Antimicrobial textiles, particularly those finished with silver nitrate, can effectively combat ESKAPE pathogens.
• The findings support the development of advanced PPE to enhance protection against infectious diseases.
• This research provides a framework for selecting antimicrobial agents to improve public health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.