Synthesis of silver nanoparticles and antibacterial property of silk fabrics treated by silver nanoparticles

A silver nanoparticle solution was prepared in one step by mixing AgNO3 and a multi-amino compound (RSD-NH2) solution under ambient condition. RSD-NH2 was in-house synthesized by methacrylate and polyethylene polyamine in methanol, which has abundant amino and imino groups. However, the characterization of silver nanoparticles indicated that these nanoparticles are easy to agglomerate in solution. Therefore, an in situ synthesis method of silver nanoparticles on the silk fabrics was developed. The examined results confirmed that the in situ synthesized silver nanoparticles were evenly distributed on the surface of fibers. The inhibition zone test and the antibacterial rate demonstrated that the finished fabrics have an excellent antibacterial property against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Moreover, the nanosilver-treated silk fabrics were laundered 0, 5, 10, 20, and 50 times and still retained the exceptional antibacterial property. When the treated fabrics were washed 50 times, the antibacterial rate is more than 97.43% for S. aureus and 99.86% for E. coli. The excellent laundering durability may be attributed to the tight binding between silver nanoparticles and silk fibers through the in situ synthesis. This method provides an economic method to enhance the antibacterial capability of silk fabrics with good resistance to washings.