| Publics are facing a great challenge of infections from pathogens, most significantly from multidrug-resistant bacteria in healthcare facilities. Textiles are susceptible to contamination of various microorganisms and contaminated medical use textiles can be important sources of cross-infections. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used in health-care settings as surgical gowns, protective drapes and privacy curtains. Therefore, it is vital to research and develop effective and regenerable antimicrobial PET fabrics.;In this study, effective antibacterial modification of PET was achieved by immobilizing N-halamine biocide poly(N-chloroacrylamide) (PCA) onto PET through the formation of a surface interpenetrating network. The successful and uniform immobilization of polyacrylamide (PAM) on PET was confirmed by FTIR and XPS. The immobilization is durable to a 72 hours soxhlet extraction. Surface morphology of the fabrics did not significantly change after modification until the immobilization percentage exceeded 20%. The modified fabric can bring 100% reduction of 106 CFU/ml of several clinical important bacteria in 15 min contact. The regenerability of N-halamine on PAM modified PET with three different crosslinkers were studied by FTIR, titration and N analysis. It was found that breaking down of the PAM network in chlorination accounted for the loss of regenerability. After 30 regeneration cycles, the PAM-DVB network modified PET was still able to provide 100% reduction of HA-MRSA in 20 min contact. The amount of immobilized N-halamine on PET could be controlled by adjusting irradiation duration, swelling duration, monomer concentration, crosslinker species and initiator, crosslinker concentration. Furthermore, the modification could keep the interspaces between fibers and good breathability of the fabrics. |
