Antibacterial textiles

The aim of this thesis was the antibacterial functionalization of textiles and its application in professional laundries. The antibacterial functionalization was meant for the various textile packages lent out by the laundry companies to their customers from hotels, hospital or food industries. The work in this thesis proposed the antibacterial functionalization of the textile during the laundering process in contrast to the standard washing step. An antibacterial functionalization of the textile was expected to protect the garment from the bacterial contamination which generally also contributes to the textile degradation and foul odour. Two distinct approaches were proposed for the functionalization step which was meant to be realized in the rinsing step of the laundering wash cycle. The first approach was referred to as the single step method where the antibacterial molecules are applied directly to the textile by the treatment in a bulk liquor containing an antibacterial agent. The second method referred to as the multi-step method involved two separate steps; the first being the application of a wash durable so called host molecule (capable of housing or holding antibacterial molecules) and the second being the application of the antibacterial molecule from the bulk liquor. The host molecules selected in this work were the β- cyclodextrin molecules. Two separate antibacterial molecules were selected for the single step method and the multi-step method. A mathematical model was developed to study the textile adsorption and desorption kinetics of the antibacterial molecule (in the single step method).This model was then validated with experimental work. The fixation of the textile substrates with three types of β-cyclodextrin was then explored and one was selected for this work. An antibacterial was then applied and the amount of the molecule on the surface of the textile was determined. Antibacterial tests were done of textiles (to determine the antibacterial activity) treated via the single and multistep methods. This work was then further implemented in an industry laundry with promising results. This thesis concludes with recommendations and outlook for future work in the area of antibacterial functionalization as well as other possible paths of investigations in the area of cyclodextrin fixation.