Issue 17, 2019

Nonfouling textiles with tunable antimicrobial activity based on a zwitterionic polyamine finish

Abstract

Antimicrobial finishes for textiles and other surfaces that act without the release of biocides to the environment (contact biocides) or by inhibiting microbial adhesion (antifouling action) are viewed as promising and environmentally friendly alternatives to current products. We have used polyvinylamine polymers that were functionalized with zwitterionic sulfobetaine side chains with different degrees of substitution (DS) for the finishing of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fabrics in a water-based pad-dry-cure process. After washing with different surfactants, a stable finish with total polymer add-ons of 0.2–0.5 wt% was achieved. The finished textiles efficiently inhibited the adhesion of proteins and bacteria to the surface even with a small DS as low as 20%. Textiles finished with polymers with a low DS also showed significant antibacterial activity, most notably against Staphylococcus aureus. Accordingly, textile finishes with either pure antiadhesive (DS > 50%) or combined antiadhesive and antibacterial properties (DS = 20–50%) are accessible using this approach.

Graphical abstract: Nonfouling textiles with tunable antimicrobial activity based on a zwitterionic polyamine finish

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 dec 2018
Accepted
13 mar 2019
First published
28 mar 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2019,9, 9783-9791

Nonfouling textiles with tunable antimicrobial activity based on a zwitterionic polyamine finish

L. M. Timma, L. Lewald, F. Gier, L. Homey, C. Neyer, A. Nickisch-Hartfiel, J. S. Gutmann and M. Oberthür, RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 9783 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA09975H

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