Cationizing efficiency and performance of antimicrobial agent on cotton fabric dyed with vinyl sulfone based reactive blue dye

Abstract

The capacity of cotton treated with antimicrobial agent (Reputex-20) to uptake reactive blue dye has been determined and compared with that of untreated and dyed cotton. The cationizing efficiency and antimicrobial effect of antimicrobial agent applied on cotton fabric dyed with reactive dye are found to be better as compared to conventional method of reactive dyeing on untreated cotton fabric. Moreover, the fabric pre-treated with antimicrobial agent shows less antimicrobial activity as compared to post-treated fabric. The samples pre-treated with antimicrobial agent give better <i style="">K</i>/<i style="">S</i> values than the normal reactive dyed sample. Fastness to light, washing and rubbing of treated and dyed fabric is also found to be comparable with that of the conventional dyed fabric