Antimicrobial activity of monochlorotriazinyl-β-cyclodextrin/chlorohexidin diacetate finished cotton fabrics

• Fabrics loaded with antimicrobial agent show good antimicrobial activity. • As MCT-β-CD, fixed on the fabric increases, the antimicrobial activity increases. • GMA/MCT-β-CD containing antimicrobial agent retain antimicrobial after five washing. Linear electron beam radiation was used as an initiator for the grafting of glycidyl methacrylate/monochlorotriazinyl-β-cyclodextrin mixture (GMA/MCT-β-CD) onto cotton fabric. The obtained grafted fabric (Cell-g-GMA/MCT-β-CD) was loaded with chlorohexidin diacetate and subjected to several washing cycles. Grafted cotton fabrics (before/after loading) and untreated cotton were characterized for antimicrobial activity against different bacteria and fungi by using the Agar-Diffusion Method. Grafted fabrics loaded with the antimicrobial agent were found to show very good antimicrobial activity in comparison with control and grafted fabrics which are not loaded with antimicrobial agent. The results reported in this study demonstrate also that the GMA/MCT-β-CD grafted fabrics loaded with antimicrobial agent retain good durability toward antimicrobial activity after five washings. This is due to the cavities present in cyclodextrin moieties which are used as a host for the antimicrobial agent, resulting in long lasting antimicrobial efficiency.