Antibacterial and UV protective properties of polyamide fabric impregnated with TiO2/Ag nanoparticles

The possibility of in situ photoreduction of Ag+ using colloidal TiO2 nanoparticles deposited on the surface of polyamide fabric in the presence of the amino acid alanine and methanol is discussed. The presence of TiO2/Ag nanoparticles on the polyamide fabric was confirmed by FESEM and ICP analyses. The antibacterial activity of the fabric was tested against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and the Gram- positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The TiO2/Ag nanoparticles fabricated on the surface of the polyamide fabric provided maximum bacterial reduction and thus, excellent antibacterial activity. In spite of silver leaching from the fabric during washing, the impregnated polyamide fabric preserved the maximum reduction of E. coli colonies. The antibacterial activity against S. aureus was slightly decreased after ten washing cycles, but still the antibacterial activity could be considered as satisfactory. In addition, the presence of TiO2/Ag nanoparticles ensured better UV protection efficiency, which belonged to the UV protection category very good.