Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
in.a.similar.size.range,.resulting.in.a.structural.system.with.unprecedented.performance..
These.are.the.reasons.why.nanotechnology.has.attracted.a.large.amount.of.federal.fund-
ing,.research.activity,.and.media.attention.
The.textile.industry.has.already.seen.many.inluences.from.nanotechnology..Research.
involving. nanotechnology. to. create. unique. functions. of. textile. materials. is. lourishing..
These.research.endeavors.mainly.focused.on.using.nanosized.substances.and.generating.
nanostructures.during.manufacturing.and.inishing.processes.
This.chapter.emphasizes.the.use.of.nanomaterials.such.as.inorganic.metals.and.metal.
oxide. nanoparticles,. polymer. composites,. and. dyes. in. the. textile. industry. as. antimicro-
bial.agents..The.key.advantage.of.these.inorganic.antimicrobial.agents.is.improved.safety.
and.stability,.compared.to.organic.antimicrobial.agents.
4
.Nanoparticles.have.a.larger.sur-
face. area. and. hence. higher. eficiency. than. larger-sized. particles.. Besides,. nanoparticles.
are. transparent. and. do. not. blur. color. and. brightness. of. the. textile. substrates.. Research.
involving. the. nanoparticles. of. metal. oxide. has. been. focusing. on. antimicrobial,. self-de-
contaminating,.and.UV-blocking.functions.for.both.military.protection.gear.and.civilian.
health.products.
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.For.example,.nylon.iber.illed.with.ZnO.nanoparticles.can.provide.UV.
shielding.and.reduce.static.electricity.of.nylon.iber..A.composite.iber.with.nanoparticles.
TiO
2
.and.MgO.now.replaces.fabrics.with.active.carbon,.previously.used.as.chemical.and.
biological.protective.materials..The.photocatalytic.activity.of.TiO
2
.and.MgO.nanoparticles.
can.break.up.harmful.and.toxic.chemicals.and.biological.agents..These.nanoparticles.can.
also.be.preengineered.to.adhere.to.textile.substrates.by.using.spray.coating.or.electrostatic.
methods.
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18.2 AntimicrobialAgents
18.2.1 Silver Nanoparticles
Several.investigations.have.been.reported.on.the.antimicrobial.activity.of.silver.on.the.tex-
tile.surface..The.polyester-polyamide.Ag-loaded.textile.was.carried.out.by.radio.frequency.
(RF)-plasma.and.vacuum-UV.(V-UV).surface.activation,.followed.by.chemical.reduction.
of.silver.salts.
7
.The.rate.of.bacterial.inactivation.by.the.silver-loaded.textile.was.tested.on.
E. coli
. K-12. and. showed. a. long-lasting. residual. effect.. In. an. investigation. of. antimicro-
bial.activity.of.silver.nanoparticles.against
E. coli
by.Sondi.and.Salopek-Sondi,
8
.the.silver.
hydrosols.were.prepared.by.the.reduction.of.AgNO
3
.with.ascorbic.acid.using.Daxad.19.as.
surfactant..Bacteriological.tests.were.performed.on.a.Luria-Bertani.(LB).agar.plate.supple-
mented. with. nanosized. silver. particles. in. concentrations. of. 10-100. µg. cm
-3
.. Figure 18.1.
shows. scanning. electron. microscopy. (SEM). micrographs. of. native.
E. coli
. cells. and. cells.
treated.with.50.µg.cm
-3
.of.silver.nanoparticles.in.liquid.LB.medium.for.4.h..The.treated.
bacteria.cells.showed.major.damage,.which.was.characterized.by.the.formation.of.“pits”.
in.their.cell.walls.
Other.antimicrobial.activities.of.silver.nanoparticles.(Ag-NPs).have.been.performed.by.
Cho.and.co-workers.
9
.In.their.investigation,.Ag-NPs.prepared.using.different.stabilizers.
such.as.sodium.dodecylsulfate.(SDS).and.poly-(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone).(PVP).were.tested.
against.
S. aureus
and.
E. coli
..The.minimum.inhibitory.concentrations.of.Ag-NPs.for.
S. aureus
and.
E. coli
.were.5.and.10.ppm,.respectively..Figure 18.2.shows.the.antibacterial.activity.of.
(A).platinum.nanoparticles.(Pt-NPs).solution.with.PVP,.(B).Ag-NPs.solution.stabilized.with.
