Contact
    Start Publications Hydrophobic and antibacterial textile fibres prepared by ...
    ←  Publication Finder
    Attension

    Hydrophobic and antibacterial textile fibres prepared by covalently attaching betulin to cellulose

    Year: 2019

    Journal: Cellulose, Volume 26, JAN, page 665–677

    Authors: Huang, Tianxiao; Chen, Chao; Li, Dongfang; Ek, Monica

    Organizations: China Scholarship Council

    Keywords: Antibacterial property; Betulin; Cellulose; Hydrophobicity; Surface modification

    Betulin, a natural compound extractable from the outer bark of birch, can be used to improve the properties of cellulosic textile fibres. Herein, oxidation was performed to prepare carboxyl-functionalized cellulose, which was subsequently covalently attached by betulin through esterification. The surface-modified cellulosic textile fibres showed a substantially improved hydrophobicity, as indicated by a water contact angle of 136 degrees. Moreover, the material showed excellent antibacterial properties, as indicated by over 99% bacterial removal and growth inhibition, in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial assays. The method of surface-modification of the cellulosic materials adapted in this study is simple and, to the best of our knowledge, has not been carried out before. The results of this study prove that betulin, a side-stream product produced by forest industry, could be used in value-added applications, such as for preparing functional materials. Additionally, this modification route can be envisaged to be applied to other cellulose sources (e.g., microfibril-lated cellulose) to achieve the goal of functionalization.
    View publication