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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #400900
Research Project: Innovative Approaches for Value Added Cotton-Containing Nonwovens

Location: Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research

Title: Washable antimicrobial wipes fabricated from a blend of nanocomposite raw cotton fiber

Author
item Nam, Sunghyun
item Hinchliffe, Doug
item Hillyer, Matthew
item GARY, LAWSON - Wildwood Cotton Technologies
item He, Zhongqi

Submitted to: Molecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/18/2023
Publication Date: 1/20/2023
Citation: Nam, S., Hinchliffe, D.J., Hillyer, M.B., Gary, L., He, Z. 2023. Washable antimicrobial wipes fabricated from a blend of nanocomposite raw cotton fiber. Molecules. 28(3). Article 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28031051.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28031051

Interpretive Summary: The increasing use of disposable wipes poses risks to the environment. To reduce the amount of wipe waste discarded into landfills, washable antimicrobial wipes were developed using nanocomposite raw cotton fiber. The antimicrobial silver nanoparticles were produced within the substructure of raw cotton fiber without any external agents. Simply blending a small amount (2%) of the nanocomposite raw cotton fibers in the nonwoven fabrication produced wipes equipped with antimicrobial properties that were persistent after 30 laundering cycles.

Technical Abstract: In this study, a simple and effective way to produce washable antimicrobial wipes was developed based on the unique ability of raw cotton fiber to produce silver nanoparticles. A nanocomposite substructure, in which silver nanoparticles (25 ± 3 nm) were individually dispersed, was generated in raw cotton fiber without reducing and stabilizing agents. This nanocomposite raw cotton fiber was blended in the fabrication of nonwoven wipes. Blending a small amount (even 0.5%) in the fabrics provided antibacterial properties that reduced the viability of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa by 99.9%. The wipes fabricated from a blend of 2% nanocomposite raw cotton fiber maintained their antibacterial activities after 30 simulated laundering cycles, exhibiting bacterial reductions greater than 98% for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.