The Evaluation of Bacteriostatic Reagents and Methods of Application to Textile Fabrics

Abstract

Several methods for assessing the extent of bacteriostasis possessed by a treated textile fabric are extant but none is highly objective. The method described in this paper is offered for its relatively high degree of precision and its similarity to the natural function which it is designed to evaluate. Details of the method, of reagent chemical types, and of the effects of concentration of reagent are presented. In addition, results of applica tion of reagents to fabrics in field trials in operating laundry plants is presented. It is demonstrated that this method permits sharp distinction in bacteriostatic efficiency be tween reagent chemical types, concentrations, and methods of application to textile fabrics.

An Improved Method for Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of the Surface of Treated Fabrics and Other Materials

“…The use of antimicrobial agents in textile, paper, paints, leather, and other materials has led to the development of various testing methods [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] for evaluating the antimicrobial property of the treated products. One procedure frequently used is the standardized method [1] by American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC-90, 1970), which is based upon an agar diffusion plate method [9].…”

The Antimicrobial Activity of Cotton Socks Treated with Metal Salts as Affected by Dirty Materials and Microorganisms Adhering to Them

“…Many reports about the activity of the antibacterial fabrics were found (Akeson and Cooper, 1967;lsquith et al, 1972;Lee et al, 1999;Payne, 1997;Seong et al, 1999;Sherrill, 1956;Sun and Xu, 1998;Vigo et al, 1999). However, there was little reported on the effect of dirty materials and microorganisms on the antibacterial activity of antibacterialdeodorant fabrics after being used (Mizuoue, 1972;Nakashima et al, 1987;Yuge, 1961;Yuge et al, 1963).…”

A Method for the Determination of Antimicrobial Properties of Treated Fabrics

“…In the case of agents which strongly adhere to the fabric, or those poorly diffusible in agar, the diffusion method results may not be of practical significance. Numerous other methods, reported from time to time (Britt and Schweiger,195)2; Latlief et al, 1952;Church and Loosli, 1953;Goldsmith et al, 1954;Sherrill, 1956;Crone, 1958;Schwabacher et al, 1958;McNeil et al, 1960), are based on the removal of the antimicrobial agent from the fabric and subsequent measurement of it by chemical or biological means. None of these methods, however, directly measures the ability of the treated fabric to inhibit microbial growth.…”