Optimization of antimicrobial finishing on cotton muslin fabric by treatment with PEG, chitosan and cetrimide

Abstract

In the present work, combinations of different concentrations of binary mixture of chitosan + PEG, chitosan + cetrimide and PEG + cetrimide have been applied on bleached cotton muslin fabric by pad-dry-cure process in the presence of citric acid + sodium hydrogen phosphate catalyst, and the consequent percentage strength retention after treatment, percentage strength retention after soil burial test and average bacterial reduction % are evaluated with an aim to optimize the concentrations of chitosan, polyethylene glycol and cetrimide to achieve a balance between antimicrobial properties and tenacity retention. Optimization results show that the application of 2% chitosan + 2% PEG (50:50) with citric acid and SHP as mixed catalyst system gives shows very good antimicrobial/ rot resistant properties without much loss of tenacity.