Orthogonal analysis for rechargeable antimicrobial finishing of plasma pretreated cotton

This paper reports results of an investigation of the effects of different parameters used in the antimicrobial finishing process on rechargeable antimicrobial finishing of cotton fabric after plasma pretreatment. Cotton fabric was pretreated with a mixture of nitrogen and helium plasma before coating with 5, 5-dimethylhydantoin (DMH) (i.e. plasma-pad-dry-cure) and then chlorinated with sodium hypochlorite to impart antimicrobial property. An orthogonal array testing strategy was employed for identifying optimal conditions for the coating process. After coating and chlorination, properties of finished cotton fabrics were measured in terms of concentration of chlorine, morphological properties of the surface and functional groups on the cotton fabric by Ultraviolet spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that coating of plasma pretreated fabric with DMH, followed by chlorination, inhibits microorganisms effectively and the antimicrobial property against S. aureus is rechargeable.