Abstract
A straightforward and cost-effective way to coat polypropylene fibers, designed for healthcare textiles, was developed through chitosan crosslinking for antibacterial purposes. As polypropylene is an inert material, the goal was to physically trap the inert fibers through a network of crosslinked chitosan or a quaternized derivative (to enhance the antibacterial action). First, chitosan or its quaternized derivative was physically deposited by impregnation or spraying. Then, chitosan was crosslinked in glutaraldehyde solution followed by its quaternized derivative with a diisocyanate. Coated fabrics were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), weight gain measurements, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). This led us to conclude that spraying provides uniform deposition while maintaining the fabric's porosity. Acidic washing allowed us to prove that chitosan and its quaternized derivative were successfully immobilized on the fabric. Biological assays were conducted against two major strains of bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections: Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative). Chitosan-crosslinked samples did not show significant antibacterial activity, but the quaternized derivative allowed a significant decrease in S. aureus colonization. This study presents a simple and scalable process to coat inert fabrics with a polymer containing reactive functions potentially available to graft various additional antimicrobial agents.