Antimicrobial finishing of wool fabric using ionic liquids

This work aims to study the effect of pretreatment of wool fabrics with two imidazolium-based ionic liquids to impart durable antimicrobial properties. The used ionic liquids, cationic in nature, were ionically bonded to the anionic sites along the keratin macromolecules. These anionic sites have been enriched via treatment with the presynthesized anionic agent (AA) (sodium 4-(4,6-dichloro-1,3,5-triazinylamino)-benzenesulfonate). The effect of the treatment temperature of wool fabric with the AA, liquor ratio as well as the pH on the exhaustion percentage was studied. Antibacterial activity of the treated wool fabric towards Gram –ve bacteria (Escherichia coli), and fastness to washing were examined. The chemical structure of the synthesized AA was elucidated using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.