Antimicrobial Effectiveness of Cellulose based Fabrics treated with Silver Nitrate Solution using Plasma Processes

In order to obtain antibacterial properties, the possibility of deposition of silver particles from silver nitrate (AgNO3) solutions by plasma deposition process using argon as a carrier gas (PDP-Ar) was explored. Hexamethyldisiloxane and acrylic acid were used as precursors and were deposited by plasma enhanced-chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). The processes were carried out on lyocell and modal fabrics and antimicrobial efficacy was determined on E. coli and S. aureus using time kill assay method. The results of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) show that higher antimicrobial efficacy on E. coli is exhibited by the solution of (AgNO3) in ethylene-glycol (0.066 mu g/ml) rather than in absolute ethanol (0.265 mu g/ml). For S. aureus, minimal inhibitory concentrations of AgNO3 solutions in both absolute ethanol and ethylene-glycol as solvents are obtained at the same value (0.132 mu g/ml). Overall, the best antibacterial effect for both modal and lyocell samples has been achieved against E. coli using treatments with precursors (AAC and HMDSO) and Ag-NO3 in ethylene-glycol as solvent, with prolonged incubation time.