Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Antimicrobial, UV Resistant and Thermal Comfort Properties of Chitosan- and Aloe vera-Modified Cotton Woven Fabric

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Polymers and the Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Health and hygiene are the primary obligations for human beings to live comfortably and work with maximum safety. The aim of the present work is to develop environmentally friendly protective textiles. Aloe vera extract and chitosan on bleached cotton woven fabrics for medical and health care apparel. The modified fabric was tested for its resistance to the growth of gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The A. vera extract and chitosan were applied, alone or together, on cotton samples by the pad-dry-cure method, using critic acid as the cross-linking agent. The applications of 2 g/l chitosan and 2 g/l A. vera combinations on cotton fabric showed excellent antimicrobial resistance against gram-positive S. aureus bacteria. Bacteria were reduced by 81%, which was greater than the 6 g/l individually-treated result. After treatment, the tensile strength and whiteness index were tested. Thickness and crease recovery angle were increased. Soil degradation tests proved the bio-compatibility of the treated sample. The incorporation of chitosan and A. vera on the surface of the cotton fabric was investigated by FTIR, XRD and thermal analysis. The surface morphology of treated and untreated fabrics was evaluated using high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Air permeability, water vapour permeability and thermal conductivity indicate thermal comfort that was not significantly affected by finishing treatment. Finished cotton fabric also showed a significant improvement in UV-protection.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ristić T, Zemljič LF, Novak M, Kunčič MK, Sonjak S, Cimerman NG, Strnad S (2011) Antimicrobial efficiency of functionalized cellulose fibers as potential medical textiles. In: Méndez-Vilas A (Ed) Science against microbial pathogens: communicating current research and technological advances, vol 1. FORMATEX, Spain, pp 36–51

    Google Scholar 

  2. Shahidi S, Ghoranneviss M, Moazzenchi B, Rashidi A, Mirjalili M (2007) Investigation of antibacterial activity on cotton fabrics with cold plasma in the presence of a magnetic field. Plasma Proc Polym 4:S1098–S1103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Barrett SP, Teare EL, Sage R (1993) Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in three adjacent Health Districts of south-east England 1986–1991. J Hosp Infect 24(4):313–325

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Boyce JM (1990) Increasing prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the United States. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 11(12):639―642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hartstein AI, Denny MA, Morthland VH, LeMonte AM, Pfaller MA (1995) Control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a hospital and an intensive care unit. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 16:405–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Panlilio AL, Culver DH, Gaynes RP, Banerjee S, Henderson TS, Tolson JS, Martone WJ (1992) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in U.S. hospitals, 1975–1991. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 13(10):582―586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Chung YS, Lee KK, Kim JW (1998) Durable press and antimicrobial finishing of cotton fabrics with a citric acid and chitosan treatment. Text Res J 68(10):772–775

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kim YH, Choi H-M, Yoon JH (1998) Synthesis of a quaternary ammonium derivative of chitosan and its application to a cotton antimicrobial finish. Text Res J 6:428–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Seventekin N, Ucarci O (1993) The damage caused by microorganisms to cotton fabrics. J Text Inst 84(3):304–313

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Saladi RN, Persaud AN (2005) The causes of skin cancer: a comprehensive review. Drugs Today 41(1):37–53

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Narayanan DL, Saladi RN, Fox JL (2010) Ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer. Intern J Dermatol 49(9):978–986

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Eshun K, He Q (2004) Aloe vera: a valuable ingredient for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries—a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 44:91–96

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Boudreau MD, Beland FA (2006) An evaluation of the biological and toxicological properties of Aloe Barbadensis (Miller), Aloe vera. J Environ Sci Health C 24:103–154

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Choi S, Chung MH (2003) A review on the relationship between Aloe vera components and their biologic effects. Semin Integr Med 1(1):53–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Dagnea E, Bisrata D, Viljoena A, Wykb BEV (2000) Chemistry of Aloe species. Curr Org Chem 4:1055–1078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Djeraba A, Quere P (2000) In vivo macrophage activation in chickens with Acemannan, a complex carbohydrate extracted from Aloe vera. Intern J Immunopharmacol 22:365–372

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Femenia A, Sanchez ES, Simal S, Rosello C (1999) Compositional features of polysaccharides from Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) plant tissues. Carbohydr Polym 39:109–117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Saljooghianpour M, Javaran TA (2013) Identification of phytochemical components of aloe plantlets by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Afr J Biotechnol 12(49):6876–6880

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Arunkumar S, Muthuselvam M (2009) Analysis of phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activities of Aloe vera L. against clinical pathogens. World J Agric Sci 5(5):572–576

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Raksha B, Pooja S, Babu S (2014) Bioactive compounds and medicinal properties of Aloe vera L.: an update. J Plant Sci 2(3):102–107

    Google Scholar 

  21. Rodrıguez DJ, Castillo DH, Garcıa RR, Sánchez JLA (2005) Antifungal activity in vitro of Aloe vera pulp and liquid fraction against plant pathogenic fungi. Ind Crops Prod 21(1):81–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Das P, Srivastav AK (2015) Phytochemical extraction and characterization of the leaves of Aloe vera barbadensis for its anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant activity. Intern J Sci Res 4(6):2013–2016

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mondal MIH, Alam R (2013) Improvement of physico-mechanical properties of photo- cured chitosan films with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and (2-hydroxyethyl) methacrylate. J Polym Environ 21(2):335–342

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Li Q, Dunn ET, Grandmaison EW, Goosen MFA (1992) Applications and properties of chitosan. J Bioact Compat Polym 7:370–397

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Shin Y, Yoo DI, Jang J (2001) Molecular weight effect on antimicrobial activity of chitosan treated cotton fabrics. J Appl Polym Sci 80:2495–2501

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhang Z, Chen L, Ji J, Huang Y, C hen D (2003) Antibacterial properties of cotton fabrics treated with chitosan. Text Res J 73(12):1103–1106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Ibrahim NA, Khalifa TF, El-hossamy MB, Tawfiket TM (2010) Effect of knit structure and finishing treatments onfunctional and comfort properties of cotton knitted fabrics. J Ind Text 40(1):49–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Cheng SY, Yuen CWM, Kan CW, Cheuk KKL, Tang JCO (2010) Systemetic characterization of cosmetic textiles. Text Res J 80(6):524–536

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Sarkar RK, De P, Chauhan PD (2003) Bacteria-resist finish on cotton fabrics using natural herbal extracts. Indian J Fibre Text Res 28:322–331

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Moses JJ, Venkataraman VK (2014) Study of mechanical and surface properties on some chemical treated cotton fabric by KES-F, SEM and FTIR analysis. Text Sci Eng 4:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  31. Li Y (2001) Science of clothing comfort. Text Prog 31(1–2):1–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Hatch KL (1993) Textile science. West Publishing Company, New York, pp 6–7

    Google Scholar 

  33. Watkins DA, Slater K (1981) The moisture vapour permeability of textile fabrics. J Text Inst 72:11–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Yoon HN, Buckley A (1984) Improved comfort polyester. Part 1: transport properties and thermal comfort of polyester/cotton blend fabrics. Text Res J 54(5):289–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Behera BK, Ishtiaque SM, Chand S (1997) Comfort properties of fabrics woven from ring, rotor, and friction-spun yarns. J Text Inst 88(3):255–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Budd GM (1981) Clothing physiology. Fire Saf J 4:77–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Day M, Sturgeon PZ (1986) Water vapor transmission rates through textile materials as measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Text Res J 56(3):157–161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Xu Q, Ke X, Shen L, Ge N, Zhang Y, Fu F, Liu X (2018) Surface modification by carboxymethy chitosan via pad-dry-cure method for binding Ag NPs onto cotton fabric. Int J Bio Macromol 111:796–803

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Ahmed HB, Emam HE, Mashaly HM, Rehan M (2018) Nanosilver leverage on reactive dyeing of cellulose fibers: color shading, color fastness and biocidal potentials. Carbrohydr Polym 186:310–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Xu Q, Ke X, Cai D, Zhang Y, Fu F, Endo T, Liu X (2018) Silver-based, single-sided antibacterial cotton fabrics with improved durability via an L-cysteine binding effect. Cellulose 25(3):2129–2141

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Xu Q, Ke X, Ge N, Shen L, Zhang Y, Fu F, Liu X (2018) Preparation of copper nanoparticles coated cotton fabrics with durable antibacterial properties. Fiber Polym 19(5):1004–1013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Luo G, Xi G, Wang X, Qin D, Zhang Y, Fu F, Liu X (2018) Antibacterial N-halamine coating on cotton fabric fabricated using mist polymerization. J Appl Polym Sci 134:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  43. Xu Q, Xie L, Diao H, Li F, Zhang Y, Fu F, Liu X (2017) Antibacterial cotton fabric with enhanced durability prepared using silver nanoparticles and carboxymethyl chitosan. Carbohydr Polym 177:187–193

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Zhou J, Cai D, Xu Q, Zhang Y, Fu F, Diao H, Liu X (2018) Excellent binding effect of L-methionine for immobilizing silver nanoparticles onto cotton fabrics to improve the antibacterial durability against washing. RSC Adv 8:24458–24463

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Dhiman G, Chakraborty JN (2015) Antimicrobial performance of cotton finished with triclosan, silver and chitosan. Fash Text 2(13):1–14

    Google Scholar 

  46. Bușilă M, Mușat V, Textor T, Mahltig B (2015) Synthesis and characterization of antimicrobial textile finishing based on Ag:ZnO nanoparticles/chitosan biocomposites. RSC Adv 1(3):1–10

    Google Scholar 

  47. Ghayempour S, Montazer M, Rad MM (2016) Simultaneous encapsulation and stabilization of Aloe vera extract on cotton fabric for wound dressing application. RSC Adv 6:111895–111902

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Ammayappan L, Moses JJ (2009) Study of antimicrobial activity of Aloe vera, chitosan, and curcumin on cotton, wool, and rabbit hair. Fiber Polym 10(2):161–166

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. ASTM D3776-96 (2002) Standard test methods for mass per unit area (weight) of fabric. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, pp 5–5

    Google Scholar 

  50. BS 2544: 1954 (1963) Determination of thickness of textile fabric. British Standard Handbook No. 11, pp 174–174

  51. ASTM D5034-95 (2001) Standard test method for breaking strength and elongation of textile fabrics (grab test). ASTM International, West Conshohocken, pp 5–5

    Google Scholar 

  52. AATCC Test Method: TM 110–2005 (2007) Determination of whiteness index, vol 85. AATCC Technical Manual, Research Triangle Park, pp 159–160

    Google Scholar 

  53. Harnett PR, Metha PN (1984) A Survey and Comparison of laboratory test method for measuring wicking. Text Res J 54(7):471–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Test Method AATCC: TM 66-2008 (2010) Determination wrinkle recovery angle, vol 85. AATCC Technical Manual, Research Triangle Park, pp 91–94

  55. ASTM D4966-98 (1989) Standard test method for abrasion resistance of textile fabrics (Martindale Abrasion tester method). ASTM International, West Conshohocken

    Google Scholar 

  56. AATCC Test Method: TM 100–2004 (2010) Determination of antimicrobial activity by quantitative method, vol 85. AATCC Technical Manual, Research Triangle Park, pp 142–144

    Google Scholar 

  57. Test Method AATCC: TM 147–2004 (2010) Determination of zone of inhibition by qualitative method, vol 85. AATCC Technical Manual, Research Triangle Park, pp 251–252

    Google Scholar 

  58. Test Method AATCC: TM 124–2004 (2010) Smoothness appearance of fabrics after repeated home laundering, vol 85. AATCC Technical Manual, Research Triangle Park, pp 195–198

    Google Scholar 

  59. Test Method AATCC: TM 183–2004 (2010) Transmittance or blocking of erythemally weighted ultraviolet radiation through fabric, vol 85. AATCC Technical Manual, Research Triangle Park, pp 318–321

    Google Scholar 

  60. Vigneswaran C, Chandrasekaran K, Senthilkumar P (2009) Effect of thermal conductivity behavior of jute/cotton blended knitted fabrics. J Ind Text 38(4):289–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. BS 4745 (1971) Method for the determination of thermal resistance of textiles. British Standards Institute, Berkshire

    Google Scholar 

  62. BS 7209 (1990) Specification for water vapour permeable apparel fabrics. British Standards Institute, Berkshire

    Google Scholar 

  63. BS 5636 (1990) Method of test for the determination of the permeability of fabrics to air. British Standards Institute, Berkshire

    Google Scholar 

  64. Swain PK, Das M, Nayak PL (2015) Biodegradation studies of chitosan polycaprolactone (PCL) nano composite in soil burial test. Middle-East J Sci Res 23(2):253–258

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. Bagheri-Khoulenjani S, Taghizadeh S, Mirzadeh H (2009) An investigation on the short-term biodegradability of chitosan with various molecular weights and degrees of deacetylation. Carbohydr Polym 78:773–778

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Vellingiri K, Ramachandran T, Senthilkumar M (2013) Eco-friendly application of nano chitosan in antimicrobial coatings in the textile industry. Nanosci Nanotechnol 3(4):75–89

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Gupta SC, Kapoor VK (2002) Fundamentals of mathematical statistics, chap 10, 11 edn. Sultan Chand & Sons Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 1–3

    Google Scholar 

  68. Gupta SC, Kapoor VK (2002) Fundamentals of mathematical statistics, chap 15, 11 edn. Sultan Chand & Sons Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 25–27

    Google Scholar 

  69. Purwar R (2005) Study on antimicrobial finishing of cotton textiles using neem extract (Doctoral thesis), Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

  70. El-tahlawy KF, El-bendary MA, Elhendawy AG, Hudson SM (2005) The antimicrobial activity of cotton fabrics treated with different crosslinking agents and chitosan. Carbohydr Polym 60:421–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Sunder AE, Nalankilli G, Swamy NKP (2014) Multifunctional finishes on cotton textiles using combination of chitosan and polycarboxylic acids. Indian J Fibre Text Res 39:418–424

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. Xu YH, Chen L (2011) Characterization on aggregating structure of aloe extract crosslinked cotton fabric. Adv Mater Res 311–313:1132–1135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Bonin LE (2008) Durable and reusable antimicrobial textiles. State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Louisian

    Google Scholar 

  74. Strid A, Porra RJ (1992) Alteration in pigment content in leaves of Pisum sativum after exposure to supplementary UV-B. Plant Cell Physiol 33:1015–1023

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Landry LG, Chapple CCS, Last RL (1995) Arabidopsis mutants lacking phenolic sunscreens exhibit enhanced ultraviolet-B injury and oxidative damage. Plant Physiol 109:1159–1166

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  76. Tyagi R, Kumar A, Sardar M, Kumar S, Gupta MN (1996) Chitosan as an affinity macroligand for precipitation of N-acetyl glucosamine binding proteins/enzymes. Isol Purif 2:217–226

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. Kotb RM, Elsayed NAA, Salama AAA (2014) Promising modification of cotton fabric for multifunctional applications. J Chem Pharm Res 6(11):900–912

    Google Scholar 

  78. Singh N (2018) Substantiate the effects of reactive dyes and Aloe vera on the ultra violet protective properties on cotton woven and knitted fabrics. In: 20th international conference on textiles and fashion, Sydney, Australia, January 29–30

  79. Khurshid MF, Ayyoob M, Asad M, Shah SNH (2015) Assessment of eco-friendly natural antimicrobial textile finish extracted from Aloe vera and neem plants. Fibres Text East Eur 23(114):120–123 6)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. Sathianarayanan MP, Bhat NV, Kokate SS, Walunj VE (2010) Antibacterial finish for cotton fabric from herbal products. Indian J Fibre Text Res 35:50–58

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. Lim S-H, Hudson SM (2004) Application of a fibre reactive chitosan derivatives to cotton fabric as an antimicrobial textile finish. Carbohydr Polym 56:227–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  82. Chung C, Lee M, Choe EK (2004) Characterization of cotton fabric scouring by FTIR, ATR spectroscopy. Carbohydr Polym 58:417–420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  83. Papadimitrio S, Bikiaris D, Avgoustakis K, Karavas E, Georgarakis M (2008) Chitosan nanoparticles loaded with dorzolamide and pramipexole. Carbohydr Polym 73:44–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. Ray A, Gupta D, Ghosh S S (2013) Isolation and characterization of potent bioactive fraction with antioxidant and UV absorbing activity from Aloe barbadensis Miller gel. J Plant Biochem Biotechnol 22(4):483–487

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  85. Ray A, Aswatha SM (2013) An analysis of the influence of growth periods on physical appearance, and acemannan and elemental distribution of Aloe vera L. gel. Ind Crops Prod 48:36–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  86. Ma ZH, Yu DG, Branford-White CJ, Nie HL, Fan ZX, Zhu LM (2009) Microencapsulation of tamoxifen: application to cotton fabric. Colloids Surf B 69:85–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  87. Nadiger VG, Shukla SR (2015) Antimicrobial activity of silk treated with Aloe vera. Fiber Polym 16(5):1012–1019

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  88. Naebe M, Li Q, Onur A, Denning R (2016) Investigation of chitosan adsorption onto cotton fabric with atmospheric helium/oxygen plasma pre-treatment. Cellulose 23:2129–2142

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  89. Öktem T (2003) Surface treatment of cotton fabrics with chitosan. Colour Technol 119:241–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  90. Altınıs A, Bozacı E, Akar E, Seki Y, Yurdakoc K, Demir A, Ozdogan E (2013) Development of antimicrobial cotton fabric using bio nanocomposites. Cellulose 20:3111–3121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  91. Wang M, She Y, Xiao Z, Hu J, Zhou R, Zhang J (2014) The green adsorption of chitosan tripolyphosphate nanoparticles on cotton fiber surfaces. Carbohydr Polym 101:812–818

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  92. Yang Z, Zeng Z, Xiao Z, Ji H (2014) Preparation and controllable release of chitosan/vanillin microcapsules and their application to cotton fabric. Flav Fragr J 29:114–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer and Textile Research Lab, Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Rajshahi University, Rajshahi, 6205, Bangladesh

    Md. Ibrahim H. Mondal & Joykrisna Saha

Authors
  1. Md. Ibrahim H. Mondal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joykrisna Saha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Md. Ibrahim H. Mondal.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mondal, M.I.H., Saha, J. Antimicrobial, UV Resistant and Thermal Comfort Properties of Chitosan- and Aloe vera-Modified Cotton Woven Fabric. J Polym Environ 27, 405–420 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-018-1354-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-018-1354-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation