Antibacterial and Antimycotic Activity of Cotton Fabrics, Impregnated with Silver and Binary Silver/Copper Nanoparticles

Effective method of obtaining of the bactericidal bandage materials by impregnation of cotton fabric by aqueous solutions of silver and copper salts followed by a certain regime of heat treatment is developed. The study of obtained materials by methods of optical spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray phase analysis showed the formation of crystalline silver nanoparticles (NPs) and bimetallic Ag/Cu composites with the corresponding surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands in the absorption spectra. High antimicrobial and antimycotic properties of tissues with low concentrations of Ag and Ag/Cu nanoparticles (Ag/Cu NPs) (in the range 0.06–0.25 weight percent (wt%) for Ag and 0.015–0.13 wt% for Ag/Cu) is confirmed in experiments with a wide range of multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi: Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans yeasts, and micromycetes. Textile materials with Ag NPs demonstrate high antibacterial activity, while fabrics doped with bimetallic composite Ag/Cu have pronounced antimycotic properties. Bactericidal and antifungal properties of the obtained materials do not change after a washing. Production of such materials is extremely fast, convenient, and cost-effective.