Development of antibacterial and UV protective cotton fabrics using plant food waste and alien invasive plant extracts as reducing agents for the in-situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Abstract

The development of cellulose-based textiles that are functionalised with silver nanoparticles (AgNP), synthesised according to a green approach, and offer protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation and pathogenic bacteria is very important today. In the present work we demonstrate the environmentally friendly approach to obtain such textile material by AgNP synthesis directly (in-situ) on cotton fabrics, using water extracts of plant food waste (green tea leaves, avocado seed and pomegranate peel) and alien invasive plants (Japanese knotweed rhizome, goldenrod flowers and staghorn sumac fruit) as reducing agents. The extracts were analysed for their total content of phenols and flavonoids and their antioxidant activity. The synthesised AgNP on cotton were round, of different size and amount depending on the reducing agent used. The highest amount of AgNP was found for samples where Japanese knotweed rhizome extract was used as reducing agent and the lowest where extracts of goldenrod flowers and green tea leaves were used. Regardless of the reducing agent used to form AgNP, all cotton samples showed excellent protection against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria and against UV radiation with UV protection factor values above 50. The best results for UV protection even after the twelve repetitive washing cycles were found for the sample functionalized with AgNP synthesised with an extract of the Japanese knotweed rhizome. Due to the presence of AgNP on cotton, the air permeability and thermal conductivity decreased. AgNP had no effect on the change in breaking strength or elongation of fabrics. Graphic abstract

Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles: What We Know and What Do We Need to Know?

“…Cotton fabric with multi-protective properties was achieved by the environmentally friendly in situ synthesis of AgNPs. The plant material from food waste (e.g., green tea, avocado seed, and pomegranate peel) and invasive plant material (e.g., Japanese knotweed rhizome, goldenrod flowers, and staghorn sumac fruit) were used as reducing agents for the formation of AgNPs directly on cotton fabrics, which provided excellent protection against UV radiation as well as against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria [219].…”

Novel Green In Situ Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles on Cotton Using Pomegranate Peel Extract

“…Since these chemicals can be harmful to human health and the environment [ 30 ], researchers are trying to replace them with more environmentally friendly compounds, such as microbes or phytochemicals [ 31 ]. Phytosynthesis is a method in which phytochemicals present in plant extracts are used as reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents in nanoparticle formation [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. The process is still not fully understood, but it is believed that primary and secondary metabolites are responsible for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles and act as reducing and stabilizing agents.…”

Importance of Protocol Design for Suitable Green In Situ Synthesis of ZnO on Cotton Using Aqueous Extract of Japanese Knotweed Leaves as Reducing Agent

“…Due to the broad diversity of chemical compounds present in the Japanese knotweed leaves extract, it is an excellent candidate to be used as a sustainable, cost-effective and an environmentally friendly source of phytochemicals for the functional finishing of textiles. The rhizomes of Japanese knotweed have already been successfully used as source of dyes for textile dyeing [27], pigments for the screen printing of paper and textiles [28] and as a reducing agent for silver nanoparticle formation [29], and the stems of the plant have been successfully used to produce paper [30,31]. However, the potential use of the leaves of Japanese knotweed has not yet been documented.…”