Fabrics resistant to growth of microbes produced in Iran

Iranian researchers from Islamic Azad University, Yazd Branch, used the advantages of nanotechnology to produce cotton clothes with high antibacterial properties. The product was synthesized by using titanium dioxide nanoparticles and can be used in textile industry, fabrics painting and completion, and the production of medical products. In this research, a stable suspension of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and BTCA was produced after designing the experiments. Then, pad-dry-cure process was carried out and the suspension was deposited on the fabrics and after the radiation of ultraviolet (UV) light, the microbial values were measured quantitatively according to AATCC 100-2004 standard. Results showed that in optimized statistical conditions, cotton fabric was produced with shrinkage of over 99% of the gram-negative bacterium of Esherichia coli and reduction of more than 97% of gram-positive bacterium of staphylococcus aureus. According to Dr. Ali Nazari, one of the researchers of the study, the created antibacterial properties are stable and they were created due to the production mechanism of species activated by titanium dioxide nanoparticles when they are exposed to ultraviolet light (UV-A). Considering the stable antibacterial properties of the cotton fabrics produced in this method, the worries can be lessened for the feeding, growth and proliferation of harmful bacteria such as gram-negative bacterium of Esherichia coli gram-positive bacterium of staphylococcus aureus on the fabrics used in the production of clothes. Results of the research, carried out by Dr. Nazari et. al, have been published in Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics, vol. 8, issue 3, January 2013, pp. 51-61.