Dyeing performance and antimicrobial activity of cellulose-based biomaterials

Textile products often serve as breeding grounds for microorganisms, posing significant health and hygiene concerns. In response, there is a growing demand for textile products with antimicrobial properties. This research work aims to develop antimicrobial textile products sustainably using natural ingredients such as onion (Allium cepa), ginger (Zingiber officinale) and black seed (Nigella sativa). Fabrics were dyed using an exhaust method with cutch (Senegalia catechu), as a mordanting agents and binders utilized for fixation for 90 min at 60ºC. Extracts were directly incorporated into the dye bath. After dyeing, the samples were fixed by different fixation processes and their antibacterial activity against four bacterial strains was examined using the disc diffusion method (AATCC 147). In addition, the dyed materials were subjected to wash and rubbing fastness tests to confirm their resilience. Results indicated that samples treated with onion had an antibacterial activity of 25.95 mm against Escherichia coli bacteria and 23.06 mm against Staphyloccus aureus bacteria. Besides, samples fixed by a combination of compounds manifested strong antimicrobial resistance.