Eco-Friendly Application of Nano Chitosan in Antimicrobial Coatings in the Textile Industry

An attempt was made on, chitosan (a renewable source of natural biodegradable polymer) synthesized into nano particles and characterized through Transmission Electron microscope (TEM) and Dynamic light scattering (DLS). The individual size varied from 5 nm to 180 nm in TEM and an average particle size 166 nm were obtained by DLS technique. Nano chitosan particles were applied on 100% cotton, viscose and polyester material to impart eco-friendly anti microbial finish using exhaust method. The antimicrobial activity of the finished fabrics was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively. The Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis exposed the embedding of chitosan nano particles in treated fabrics. The nano chitosan treated fabrics were tested for anti microbial activity as per AATCC 100-2004 and AATCC 124-2009. The results show that the finished fabric demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus in both qualitative and quantitative tests. The physical properties of treated and untreated fabrics are also analyzed and reported. The environmental testing included an effluent treatment and recycling and selected heavy metal contents and formaldehyde of nano chitosan treated fabrics. A biological method using the sequence Lactobacillus acidophilus was proposed to determine the viability of reusing contaminated water discharged. It is observed that test organisms show no inhibition at the end of the treatment. The treated water is suitable for reuse with allowable level of impurities. Contents of selected heavy metals and formaldehyde have also been tested in Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and UV-Spectrophotometer and reported. The nano coated chitosan anti microbial fabrics proved that it is durable and eco-friendly process and discharged effluents were also environmental free and cost effective process.