Antibacterial and physical properties of silver chloride-coated partially carboxymethylated cotton gauze

Abstract

Cotton gauze was modified by carboxymethylation to three different degrees of substitution (DS), and then coated with silver chloride (AgCl) and exposed to three different intensities of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The antibacterial activity and physical properties, such as the bursting strength, saline absorption and whiteness, of the different materials were then examined. In term of the antibacterial activity, the AgCl-coated unmodified cotton and carboxymethylated cotton (CM)-gauzes all showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. With respect to the physical properties, the CM-gauzes with different DS values all showed a higher bursting strength and better saline absorption than those of the unmodified cotton gauze, but the unmodified cotton gauze had the highest whiteness index compared with that of the different CM-gauzes and their corresponding AgCl-coated CM-gauzes.