Synthesis of chitosan incorporated neem seed extract (Azadirachta indica) for medical textiles.

In present study, eco-friendly biosynthesis of Chitosan-Neem seed (CS-NS) composite was prepared by co-precipitation method using aqueous neem seed extract. Cotton fabrics were treated with two different crosslinking agents (Glutaraldehyde and Citric acid) then the synthesized composite coated on cotton fabric by chemical linkage between the composite and the cellulose structure. As synthesized composite materials and treated cotton fabrics were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for functional groups confirmation, X-ray diffraction for crystalline behavior determination, UV-vis spectroscopy analysis for optical property and High resolution scanning electron microscopy for Surface morphological properties. The antibacterial activity of CS-NS composite coated cotton fabric and CS-NS composite coated cotton fabric with crosslinking agents were tested against the gram-positive and gram negative bacteria by agar well diffusion method. The results demonstrated that CS-NS composite with crosslinked coated cotton fabric has higher antibacterial activity than without crosslinked cotton fabric. Thus the chitosan-neem seed composite may be applied to the medical textiles.