Integration of Cotton Fabrics with Biosynthesized CuO Nanoparticles for Bactericidal Activity in the Terms of Their Cytotoxicity Assessment

Green biosynthesis of highly active materials for healthcare and hygiene products, such as medical textiles that allow us to wear comfortable clothes with potent protection elements, is in great demand nowadays, as our surroundings have become infected with dangerous microbes. Herein, CuO nanoparticles were biosynthesized successfully by exploiting the active enzymes/proteins secreted by fungi, with consideration of their cytotoxicity, for the production of antibacterial active textiles. The fungus, namely, Aspergillus terreus strain AF-1, was allowed to secrete active ingredients including enzymes and the protein needed to cap the formed CuO-NPs. Characterizations of the CuO-NPs were performed in order to assign the chemical and physical properties of the nanoparticles yielded using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies. Cotton fabrics were treated with CuO-NPs prior to experiment to investigate the cytotoxicity of CuO-NPs to estimate the safe dose of nanoparticles. At the CuO-NPs safe dose, the treatment of cotton fabrics was performed, and their antibacterial activities were examined through a comparison of the fabrics before and after CuO-NPs treatment. Our findings affirmed the role of fungus secreted protein for capping CuO in spherical CuO-NPs during formation with sizes in the range of 11–47 nm as determined by TEM. New functional particles attached on the cotton surface were affirmed by FT-IR, while the crystallographic structure of the formed CuO-NPs was also confirmed by XRD. XPS depicted clearly the biosynthesize of CuO-NPs, and these results were concordant with FT-IR and XRD results. As per the cytotoxicity results, fabrics were treated with CuO-NPs at a safe dose (100 μg/mL) and, in turn, advocated plausible antibacterial efficacy versus pathogenic bacteria.