In situ formation of anti-bacterial silver nanoparticles on cotton textiles

The efficiency of chemical biocides as anti-bacterial agents is well documented and there are various methods to incorporate these bactericidal agents onto commonly used substrates, such as textile materials. Silver is known for its excellent inhibitory properties due to its direct action on the morphology of the cellular membrane of the bacteria. The use of silver is, however, limited due to its cost and challenges to incorporate silver into relevant products and materials with minimal loss of efficiency. In this article, we present an ‘in situ’ (one-pot) process for the formation of silver nanoparticles onto cotton fabrics in an aqueous media. Silver nanoparticles are bonded onto the cotton fibers via a surface modification that involves the use of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. This enables the improved bonding of silver nanoparticles onto the textiles, thus mitigating the challenges associated with the leaching of silver into eluents and wash-offs. Anti-bacterial efficiency testing was also carried out on the textiles with more than 99% reduction of bacterial growth within 1 h of contact. Additionally, the textiles have also demonstrated continued anti-bacterial efficiency after prolonged period of washing. Thus, our method can potentially be applied to large-scale manufacturing of anti-bacterial textiles with potential uses in biomedical and consumer clothing industries.