A natural antibacterial agent based on modified chitosan by hinokitiol for antibacterial application on cotton fabric

Natural antibacterial agents have attracted increasing attention due to safety, ecological, and environmental protection concerns. In this study, hinokitiol-grafted-chitosan (HTCS) was prepared via the Mannich reaction and used as an antibacterial agent for the treatment of cotton fabric. The results showed that, compared with chitosan (CS) and hinokitiol (HT) alone, HTCS exhibited a lower value of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Compared with the fabrics treated by CS and HT, the antibacterial rate of the treated fabric against Escherichia coli using HTCS as antibacterial agent increased by approximately 90% and 27%, the bacterial reduction rate against Staphylococcus aureus increased by about 58% and 39%. The HTCS-treated cotton fabric possessed good antibacterial properties even after 25 washing cycles. Moreover, the antibacterial cotton fabric retained original hydrophilicity, handle, and strength. Consequently, HTCS has great potential as a natural antibacterial agent for textiles.