Treating wool fibers with chitosan-based nano-composites for enhancing the antimicrobial properties

ZIF@VO2 as an Intelligent Nano-Reactor for On-Demand Angiogenesis and Disinfection

Absent angiogenesis and bacterial infection are two major challenges that simultaneously delay the repair of injured tissues and organs. However, most current therapeutic systems deliver therapeutic cues in a separate and inaccurate manner which stimulates angiogenesis or inhibits infection leading to limited repair and side effects. Advanced therapeutic systems capable of providing accurate angiogenic stimulation and anti-infection signals in response to the changing microenvironment are urgently needed. Herein, a nano-reactor (ZFVO) involving zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67)-deposited hollow vanadium oxide (VO₂ ) is developed to intelligently execute pro-angiogenesis and/or disinfection via the responsive release of cobalt ions and hydroxyl radicals to the injury and infection sites, respectively. ZFVO nano-reactor demonstrates a novel strategy for constructing drug-free nano-platforms with a hierarchical structure which has potential for the accurate treatment of trauma and orthopedic diseases.

Application of Achillea millefolium extract as a reducing agent for synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the cotton: antibacterial, antioxidant and dyeing studies

The phyto-synthesis of silver nanoparticles and cotton dyeing with natural colorants can reduce the environmental impact of the process considerably. In this study, the extraction of natural colorants from Achillea millefolium petals was optimized by ultrasound technique. The AMP extract was applied for synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the cotton fabrics. The dyeing, antibacterial and antioxidant characteristics of cotton samples were investigated to optimize the process and evaluate its efficiency. The AMP extract had good substantivity towards cotton fabrics and the presence of tannic acid, as an environmentally-friendly mordant, further improved the absorption of AMP dye. The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the dyed samples with AMP extract of were 50%and 60%, respectively. The addition of TA and Ag enhanced the antibacterial and antioxidant activities on the cotton samples to over 99%.

Antimicrobial textile: recent developments and functional perspective

Antimicrobial textiles are functionally active textiles, which may kill the microorganisms or inhibit their growth. The present article explores the applications of different synthetic and natural antimicrobial compounds used to prepare antimicrobial textiles. Different types of antimicrobial textiles including: antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral have also been discussed. Different strategies and methods used for the detection of a textile's antimicrobial properties against bacterial and fungal pathogens as well as viral particles have also been highlighted. These antimicrobial textiles are used in a variety of applications ranging from households to commercial including air filters, food packaging, health care, hygiene, medical, sportswear, storage, ventilation and water purification systems. Public awareness on antimicrobial textiles and growth in commercial opportunities has been observed during past few years. Not only antimicrobial properties, but its durability along with the color, prints and designing are also important for fashionable clothing; thus, many commercial brands are now focusing on such type of materials. Overall, this article summarizes the scientific aspect dealing with different fabrics including natural or synthetic antimicrobial agents along with their current functional perspective and future opportunities.

Antibacterial and Antiviral Functional Materials: Chemistry and Biological Activity toward Tackling COVID-19-like Pandemics

The ongoing worldwide pandemic due to COVID-19 has created awareness toward ensuring best practices to avoid the spread of microorganisms. In this regard, the research on creating a surface which destroys or inhibits the adherence of microbial/viral entities has gained renewed interest. Although many research reports are available on the antibacterial materials or coatings, there is a relatively small amount of data available on the use of antiviral materials. However, with more research geared toward this area, new information is being added to the literature every day. The combination of antibacterial and antiviral chemical entities represents a potentially path-breaking intervention to mitigate the spread of disease-causing agents. In this review, we have surveyed antibacterial and antiviral materials of various classes such as small-molecule organics, synthetic and biodegradable polymers, silver, TiO2, and copper-derived chemicals. The surface protection mechanisms of the materials against the pathogen colonies are discussed in detail, which highlights the key differences that could determine the parameters that would govern the future development of advanced antibacterial and antiviral materials and surfaces.

Highly effective antibacterial zeolitic imidazolate framework-67/alginate fibers

Antibacterial fibers have great potential in many applications including wound dressings, surgical gowns, and surgical sutures, and play an important role in our daily life. However, the traditional fabrication method for the antibacterial fibers shows high cost, complexity, and inferior antibacterial durability. Herein, we report a facile and scalable fabrication of highly effective antibacterial alginate (SA) composite fibers through blend spinning of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) particles and SA. The fabricated ZIF-67@SA composite fibers show high tensile strength and initial modulus. More importantly, the ZIF-67@SA composite fibers demonstrate excellent antibacterial properties, and the antibacterial efficiency reaches over 99% at ultralow ZIF-67 loading (0.05 wt%). In addition, the ZIF-67@SA fibers show good antibacterial durability even after five laundering cycles. The excellent antibacterial performance of the ZIF-67@SA fibers is attributed to the synergistic effects of the highly effective antibacterial ZIF-67 particles, swelling of alginate, and immobilization of ZIF-67 particles both inside and outside the fiber surface. This work may shed light on the antibacterial mechanism of metal organic frameworks and pave the way for the development of high-performance antibacterial textiles.