Highly effective antibacterial textiles containing green synthesized silver nanoparticles

► Antibacterial activity of cotton can be greatly enhanced by introducing green synthesized AgNPs into the fabrics. ► AgNPs loaded fabrics exhibit excellent antibacterial activity even after 20 washing cycles in the presence of binder. ► Results of durability to wash of the treated fabrics also showed long-lasting bactericidal effect. Nano-sized silver particles (AgNPs) (6–8nm) at concentration of 500ppm were synthesized using hydroxypropyl starch (HPS) as both reducing and stabilizing agent. A solution containing AgNPs (500ppm) was diluted with distilled water to 100 and 50ppm and applied to cotton fabrics in presence/absence of binder. The finished fabrics were examined for morphological features and surface characteristics by making use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which reveals that AgNPs are deposited on the surface of fibrils (fabric fibres). The antibacterial activity of the treated fabrics loaded with AgNPs was evaluated against Escherichia coli (gram −ve) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram +ve) bacteria. Results explored that, regardless of the concentration of AgNPs used, the bacterial reduction, in presence/absence of binder was always higher than 95% without washing. However, binder retains excellent antibacterial properties even after 20 washing cycles reflecting the significance of binder in fixation of AgNPs deposits on the surface of the fabrics.