Highly stable, antiviral, antibacterial cotton textiles via surface engineering

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for effective antimicrobial textiles.
• Challenges exist in achieving rapid, durable pathogen inactivation on cotton with low antimicrobial loading.
• Surface modification of cotton fabric is a key strategy for developing advanced functional textiles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a surface-engineered cotton fabric with rapid, effective, and durable pathogen inactivation capabilities.
• To minimize the antimicrobial agent dosage while maximizing efficacy and safety.
• To assess the antimicrobial and antiviral performance and durability of the modified fabric.

Main Methods:

• Cotton fabric was surface-engineered by grafting carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC).
• Copper ions (Cu2+) were loaded onto the modified fabric via coordination chemistry.
• Bacterial reduction (BR) and phage reduction (PR) rates were evaluated against specific microbes and viruses.
• Durability was tested through extensive washing cycles.

Main Results:

• The Co-CMC@Cu2+ fabric demonstrated rapid bacterial reduction rates of over 94% for E. coli and 89% for S. aureus within 10 minutes.
• Complete bacterial eradication was achieved after 2 hours of contact.
• Excellent phage reduction rates of up to 100% were observed against phi6 and phi-x174 bacteriophages within 30 minutes.
• The fabric maintained over 80% efficacy after 150 washing cycles, indicating exceptional durability.

Conclusions:

• The Co-CMC@Cu2+ surface-engineered cotton fabric offers a promising solution for rapid and durable pathogen inactivation.
• Minimal copper ion dosage achieved significant antimicrobial and antiviral effects with good comfort and biosafety.
• This novel textile holds potential for public health applications, particularly in pandemic prevention and control.