Ultrasonic coating of textiles by antibacterial and antibiofilm nanoparticles #31

In this chapter we review the antimicrobial functionalization of textile with nanoscale metal oxides. In view of the growing demands for the high-quality textile, much research has focused on the antimicrobial finishing of the fabrics protecting customers from pathogenic or odor-generating microorganisms. The metal nano-oxides have a large surface area and can be finely spread on the fabrics. This fact makes them a good alternative to the triclosan, quaternary ammonium salts, and other synthetic organic compounds that now dominate the antimicrobial market. The first section of the review scopes new publications on nano-oxides as antimicrobial agents in the textile finishing. The second section of the chapter explains the mechanism of the ultrasound-assisted deposition of nanoparticles on textile. The coating can be performed by an in situ process where the nanoparticles are formed and immediately thrown to the surface of the fabrics. This approach was used for ZnO, CuO, and Zn-CuO nanoparticles. In addition, the sonochemical process can be used as a "throwing stone" technique, namely, previously commercially synthesized nanoparticles will be placed in the sonication bath and sonicated in the presence of the fabric. The last achievements in the antimicrobial finishing of textile with metal nano-oxides by sonochemical method are provided in the third section. One of the proofs that the sonochemical method is one of the best coating methods is that the sonochemically coated fabrics were washed 65 cycles in hospital washing machines (75 or 92 °C) and have shown excellent antibacterial properties at the end of the process.