Abstract:
Skin infections are an important concern in human health. Fabrics as they are worn next to skin have an important role in the occurrence and spread of skin infections. The aim was to render antibacterial properties to the textile so that it can be used to prevent and/or treat skin infections. Nanotechnology has great potential for effective antibacterial therapy along with reduced side effects and better patient compliance. Nanoprecipitation technique was employed to prepare antibiotic loaded polymeric nanoparticles. For preparing nanoprecipitations erythromycin and the hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose phthalate were dissolved in acetone and added to surfactant stabilized water phase drop by drop under constant stirring. Nanoprecipitations were optimized for stability by varying different parameters. The most stable blank nanoprecipitations had nanoparticles of 189 nm in size with a poly dispersity index of 0.177 while drug loaded nanoprecipitations were found to have nanoparticles of 65 nm with a PDI of 0.169. Zeta potential values were -37mV and -17.2 mV for blank and drug loaded samples respectively. Size and shape of nanoparticles was also determined through SEM. Antibacterial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027). Antibacterial nanoprecipitation was used to coat polyester fabric through Layer by Layer deposition method. 1,5,10 and 15 bilayers were produced. Antimicrobial activity of treated fabrics was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) using standard parallel streak method (AATCC147-2011). Treated fabrics showed good antimicrobial activity that increased with increasing number of bilayers.
