Preparing Chito-Oligosaccharides as Antimicrobial Agents for Cotton

Abstract

Cotton fabric with good antimicrobial activity and durability to washing is obtained by using chito-oligosaccharides without the need for a binding chemical as a crosslinker. The fully deacetylated chitosan is depolymerized into chito-oligosaccharide using sodium nitrite. The average degree of polymerization (DP) of chito-oligosaccharide is determined by colorimetric titration of a terminal aldehyde group of chito-oligosaccharide. In a pad-dry-cure process, two different chito-oligosaccharides (DP = 3 and 10) are applied to cotton fabric using the chemical reactivity of the terminal aldehyde group. The antimicrobial activity and durability to washing of the treated cotton are evaluated. The results show that at the fiftieth wash cycle, the cotton fabrics treated with 2.4% chito-oligosaccharide are able to maintain 95% (for a DP of 3) and 100% (for a DP of 10) bacterial reductions.The use of antimicrobial agents on textiles dates back to antiquity, when the ancient Egyptians used spices and herbs to preserve mummy wraps. In 1935, Domagk, a German scientist, developed an important class of antimicrobial agents based on quaternary ammonium salts.In the last few decades, the prevention of microbial attack on textiles and wearers of textile materials has become increasingly important to consumers and textile producers. The major classes of antimicrobial agents for textiles include organo-metallics, phenols, quaternary ammonium salts, and organo-silicones. These finishes should be durable, have selective activity towards undesirable organisms, be compatible with other finishes and dyes, and be nontoxic to humans [! 1].Chitin has a chemical structure similar to cellulose and is the second most plentiful natural polymer [6]. Currently, chitin is manufactured commercially own a large scale from the outer shells of crustaceans like shrimps and crabs, and is attracting a lot.of attention in agricultural, industrial, and medical fields [4]. Chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin, is a natural, nontoxic, biodegradable polymer. Chitosan is also known as an antimicrobial polysaccharide due to the antimicrobial action of the amino group at the C-2 position of the glucosamine residue. °R ecently, Seo et al. used chitosan in the preparation of a blend fiber with antimicrobial properties [8]. There are some reports about the utility of chitosan polymer to impart antimicrobial activity in textile finishing. For example, chitosan salt produced by an organic acid was bound to the surface of textiles by a tremendous amount of resin, which formed crosslinks [3].Currently, little work has been published on using chito-oligosaccharide (cos) to produce antimicrobial activity in textile finishes. In this study, we prepare cos by depolymerizing chitosan and apply it to cotton fabric by a pad-dry-cure process. We then evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the treated fabric. ExperimentalA scoured and bleached 100% cotton fabric was used in this investigation. Chitosan with an initial 83.9% degree of deacetylation came from Kumho Chemi...

Biologically active fibers based on chitosan-coated lyocell fibers

“…In such way, chitosan can be grafted onto the oxycellulose fibers without any synthetic cross-linking agents (Varma & Chavan, 1995). According to literature data (Chung, Lee, & Kim, 1998;Kim, Choi, & Yoon, 1998;Seong, Kim, & Ko, 1999;Strnad et al, 2008;Zhang, Chen, Ji, Huang, & Chen, 2003) much of the interest in obtaining and the antibacterial properties of cellulose-chitosan fibers has been focused on the possibilities of cotton-chitosan fiber preparation, but there is no data about using man-made cellulose fibers to produce antibacterial cellulose-chitosan fibers. In this paper, we report the potassium periodate oxidation of lyocell fibers followed by treatment with chitosan aqueous acetic acid solution to yield the chitosan-coated lyocell fibers, and their properties.…”

Synthesis of a quaternary ammonium derivative of chito-oligosaccharide as antimicrobial agent for cellulosic fibers

“…The fabric treated with COS exhibited durable antimicrobial activity without the need for a binding chemical as a crosslinker. 5 One of the most important classes of antimicrobial agents is quaternary ammonium salts. It is expected that a quaternary ammonium derivative of COS could further improve its antimicrobial activity.…”

Antibacterial Fibers Based on Cellulose and Chitosan

“…In the study [10], where cellulose oxidation also occurred, the increase in the intensity of tape at 1729 cm -1 is stated as the evidence for the increase in the content of the carbonyl groups. The change in the intensity of the spectrum at 1700 [14] and 1740 cm -1 [24] also suggests the change in the content of the carbonyl groups.…”

“…2,3-dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) obtained in this way can be used for immobilisation of proteins, dyes or for reaction of other substances with its amino groups, or for exchange of ions after further oxidation of aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acid. A large number of studies [14,15] aim at obtaining antibacterial fibres based on cellulose and chitosan, with the use of cotton fibres as cellulose component, while there are no studies for obtaining antibacterial fibres with the use of chemical cellulose fibres as cellulose component. In this study lyocell fibres were used as cellulose component, because they are more homogenous in structure and properties than cotton, they have better sorption properties and because, among chemical cellulose fibres, they stand out for their unique properties such as very high strength in comparison to other chemical cellulose fibres, high crystallinity, specific brilliance and handle and excellent physiological properties.…”