Development of antimicrobial cotton fabrics using herb loaded nanoparticles.

In the present work ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether and water extracts of the leaves of Ocimum sanctum were screened for their anti-microbial activity by using the agar diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the extracts was also measured. The methanol extracts O. sanctum proved to have the maximum antimicrobial effect were loaded inside the sodium alginate chitosan nanoparticles by cation induced controlled gelification method and finished on cotton fabric by pad dry cure method. The average particle size of the nanoparticles was calculated using dynamic light scattering technique. The antimicrobial activity of the fabrics was assessed by using the standard AATCC technique (AATCC 100). The quantitative tests proved that cotton fabrics finished with the methanol extract of O. sanctum loaded nanoparticles possessed remarkable antibacterial activities with excellent wash durability. The study revealed that the herb encapsulated nanoparticle could act as a biocontrol agent against bacteria in fabrics.