One Step Photopolymerization of N, N-Methylene Diacrylamide and Photocuring of Carboxymethyl Starch-Silver Nanoparticles onto Cotton Fabrics for Durable Antibacterial Finishing

The PI/UV system ((4-trimethyl ammonium methyl) benzophenone chloride/UV) was used to synthesize carboxymethyl starch- (CMS-) stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). AgNPs so prepared had round shape morphology with size of 1–7 nm. The prepared AgNPs were utilized to impart antibacterial finishing for cotton fabrics. The PI/UV system was further utilized to fix AgNPs onto cotton fabrics by photocrosslinking of AgNPs-CMS composite onto cotton fabrics to impart durable antibacterial properties. Effect of irradiation time and incorporating N, N-methylene diacrylamide (MDA) in different concentrations on antibacterial performance before and after repeated washing cycles was studied. S. aureus and E. coli were used to evaluate the antibacterial performance of finished fabrics. The antibacterial performance was directly proportional to the irradiation time and concentration of MDA but inversely proportional to the number of washing cycles. The inhibition zone of S. aureus and E. coli is the same although they are different in the cell wall structure and mode of action due to the nanosize structure formed.