Antimicrobial Treatment:

By incorporating this type of finish into textiles and fabrics, wearers will be protected from microbiological attack. There are different kinds of antimicrobial finishes, appropriate for different applications and levels of protection. One major application of antimicrobial finish is in the medical field. Medical applications demand powerful bactericidal antimicrobials that will perform quickly to help maintain sterile environments. In case of institutional applications such as uniforms and hotel/ restaurant fabric, the antimicrobial would only be required to have a bacteriostatic effect to control stains and odour. Apparel and home textile applications such as active wear, bed linen, hosiery, underwear, carpeting, etc, will also use antimicrobial activity to control odour and staining.

One major application of antimicrobial finish is in the medical fieldto help maintain sterile environments.

Antimicrobial treatment for textile materials is necessary to fulfill the following objectives:

• To avoid cross infection by pathogenic micro organisms;
• To control the infestation by microbes;
• To arrest metabolism in microbes in order to reduce the formation odour; and
• To safeguard the textile products from staining, discolouration and quality deterioration.

It is neither possible nor desirable to remove all the dust mites from our environment. They are an important part of the ecosystem. However, it would be useful to eliminate them from the immediate surroundings of those suffering from asthma. This could be done by removing all possible homes for the mites, such as bedding and carpets. But this is a rather drastic measure. Just because a person suffers from an allergy, he/she does not have to sleep in a bare cell. Nowadays, there are treatments available for textiles and carpets, which create an inhospitable environment for the dust mite. This stops the dust mites from inhabiting these locations, thereby, keeping them relatively free of the allergens. The textile treatments used against dust mites have a long history of use as anti-fungal agents. There seems to be a relationship between fungal protection and the inhibition of dust mites. There are a number of theories, which talk about the exact nature of this relationship, but none has been clearly proven. However, it can be demonstrated that anti-bacterial treatments, which are not anti-fungal, have no effect on the dust mite. In addition, it is important to note that not all anti-fungal products have anti-dust mite properties.

Requirements for Antimicrobial Finish:

Textile materials in particular, the garments are more susceptible to wear and tear. It is important to take into

account the impact of stress strain, thermal and mechanical effects on the finished substrates.

The following requirements need to be satisfied to obtain maximum benefits out of the finish:

• Durability to washing, dry cleaning and hot pressing;
• Selective activity to undesirable microorganisms;
• Should not produce harmful effects to the manufacturer, user and the environment;
• Should comply with the statutory requirements of regulating agencies;
• Compatibility with the chemical processes;
• Easy method of application;
• No deterioration of fabric quality;
• Resistant to body fluids; and
• Resistant to disinfections/sterilization.

Antimicrobial Finishing Methodologies:

The antimicrobial agents can be applied to the textile substrates by exhaust, pad-dry-cure, coating, spray and foam techniques. The substances can also be applied by directly adding into the fibre spinning dope. It is claimed that the commercial agents can be applied online during the dyeing and finishing operations. Various methods for improving the durability of the finish include:

• Insolubilisation of the active substances in/on the fibre;
• Treating the fibre with resin, condensates or cross linking agents;
• Micro encapsulation of the antimicrobial agents with the fibre matrix;
• Coating the fibre surface;
• Chemical modification of the fibre by covalent bond formation; and
• Use of graft polymers, homo polymers and/or copolymerization on to the fibre.