A study on the development of 100 % natural antibacterial textiles using propolis

In this study, propolis, a natural antibacterial agent, was microencapsulated and applied to the fabric and the antibacterial properties of produced fabric were evaluated. Microcapsules were formed by complex coacervation method and using gelatin and arabic gum, glutaraldehyde as cross-linker and rice oil for capsul formation. The amounts of phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant substance contained in the extract was determined by folin-ciocalteu, aluminum chloride colorimetry and DPPH methods. Amount of phenolic substance was 190 mg / g propolis, flavonoid amount was 122 mg / g propolis and EC50 value was 2,1 mg / ml. The sizes of the microcapsules were evaluated with the aid of an optical microscope and SEM. The dimensions of the microcapsules measured in the optical microscope are between 1-30 μm. In the SEM images, microcapsules transferred onto the fabric were observed. The thermal behaviors of microcapsules were evaluated with DTA, DTG and TG. As in large body of the literature, three-stage disruption were observed. FTIR was used to determine the chemical composition of the microcapsules. With FTIR evaluation, peaks related to the structure of the capsule wall materials were obtained in the spectrum supporting the presence of phenolic acid and flavonoids. 34,64% microcapsules were applied to the fabric. Antibacterial tests show that microcapsulated cotton fabrics were found to be effective against grams (+) and grams (-). Permanency of the antibacterial effect in the fabrics is re-evaluated after washing 5-10 times. It is observed that the antibacterial effect decreased but did not completely dissappeared.