Performance of Antimicrobial Agents for the Preservation of Chrome Leather

Fungal growth in leathers causes significant damages like stains, surface roughness and loss of physical-mechanical resistance. This raises the need to develop control strategies by the use of antimicrobial agents. Considering the improving processes with regard to the use of antimicrobial agents added in skins and leathers to prevent their contamination by fungi, this study aims to evaluate the performance of six antimicrobial agents conventionally used in the leather industry, against four different fungi. These agents were applied during the chrome tanning process. Accelerated microbiological assays (tests plating and incubation on tropical chamber) were performed, as well as sorption and wash-out testing of three selected antimicrobial agents by UV/VIS spectrophotometry and verification of surface biodeterioration through SEM. Antimicrobial agents 2-thiocyanomethylthio benzothiazole (TCMTB) and Aqueous dispersion of 2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one + methyl-Nbenzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate (OIT+BMC/water) showed antifungal capacity against different fungi tested applied in concentration of 0.2% (weight leather base). In the tropical chamber test, for the five samples of wet-blue leather treated with antimicrobial agents the growth of fungus was not observed. From the antimicrobial agents subjected to sorption testing and wash out, the TCMTB based antimicrobial agent presented rapid and high sorption in wet blue leather and also has resistance to washing.