A study of the antimicrobial property of encapsulated copper oxide nanoparticles on cotton fabric

Among the diverse fields of application of technical textiles, which are poised for tremendous growth in fast-developing economies such as India and China, non-implantable healthcare and hygiene products are assuming significant importance because of the specificity of their end uses. Today, the healthcare industry is increasingly concerned with the exposure and transference of various microorganisms that are commonly present in the atmosphere. Studies have been carried out in the present work to fine-tune the properties of copper oxide nanoparticles for special applications. Using copper sulfate and sodium hydroxide as precursors and soluble starch as stabilizing agent, the copper oxide nanoparticles were prepared by a wet chemical method. The copper oxide nanoparticles were microencapsulated by an ionic gelation method and applied to plain weave cotton fabric by exhaustion as the first step, and in the second step by the pad-dry-cure method. The antibacterial property of the coated fabric was determined quantitatively and qualitatively using AATCC 100 and 147 test methods, respectively. Techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and physical and chemical characterization were employed to study the phase and morphology of the nanoparticles. The results indicate that the coated fabric has high antibacterial efficiency. The nanoparticles synthesized in this work have an average size of 50 nm, and the physical and chemical properties of the treated fabric are markedly different from those of the untreated fabric. Insights into copper oxide encapsulated coated fabric prove their efficacy against microbes and hence can be used in the manufacture of medical apparel.