Antibacterial Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Coating of Polyester Fabrics

Polyester knitted fabrics have been equipped with antibacterial properties by coating with aqueous suspensions of zinc oxide (ZnO) with different particle diameters. It can be shown that the antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia and the permanence of the coating after defined washing cycles depends on the composition of the ZnO dispersion. To improve the wettability of the textile, the combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) is used to generate a hydrophilic nano layer of a hydroxyl terminated silicon network on the surface of the textiles. The comparison of CCVD-treated and untreated polyester samples does not show differences in the antibacterial activity. The influence of the coating in terms of amount and particle size of ZnO on the viability and proliferation of 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells is examined. A particle content of a maximum of 20 μg ZnO/cm2 is found to be cytocompatible for coating of textiles.