In Situ Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles on Polyester Fabrics and Their Antibacterial Potential against Staphylococcus aureus

Polyester fabrics provide a more conducive environment for bacterial growth than cotton fabrics. To address this problem, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can be incorporated into polyester fabric to produce antibacterial fabrics. In this study, AgNP-polyester fabric was fabricated via in situ synthesis of AgNPs using sodium ascorbate as a “green” reductant. The effects of washing cycles (0, 3, and 5) on the surface morphology, silver content, and antibacterial activity of the Ag-polyester fabrics were evaluated. The average particle size of the AgNPs on the unwashed polyester fabric was 70 ± 1.79 nm, as characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The average size of the AgNPs increases with washing cycles, suggesting faster oxidation/dissolution of smaller AgNPs than larger ones. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy results show that the unwashed Ag-polyester fabric had an Ag content of 237.67 ± 9.71 mg/kg, whereas it decreased to a value of 211.67 ± 3.79 mg/kg after five washing cycles. Antibacterial testing shows that after 0 and 5 washing cycles, the Ag-polyester fabric reduced the Staphylococcus aureus count by 99.93 and 97.37%, respectively. The results of the study show that Ag-polyester fabric can be used as an antibacterial clothing material.