Abstract:
Functional finishes are agents that are applied to fabrics to make them suitable for specific uses and
contribute a specific attribute to a fabric without altering its appearance. In this context, the present
study reveals the importance of dyed fabrics with Datura stramonium plant leaf extracts to control
antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which have been a threat to human health and posed noticeable challenges
confronted with medical physicians in the treatment of many infectious diseases. More still, the
importance of using natural dye is not limited to its antimicrobial and other medicine values but also to
its wide range of advantages via elimination of environmental pollution due to the usage of synthetic
dyes. 100% plain woven, desized, scoured and bleached cotton fabric samples and 100% degummed
and bleached hand knitted silk fabric samples were dyed with aqueous extracts from D. stramonium
plant leaves in combination with Alum and Iron Sulphate as mordants using post-mordanting method
and then tested against two strains of Staphylococus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative bacteria) using Agar diffusion method as per SN195920-1992
standard. The fastness properties (wash fastness, light fastness and rubbing fastness) of the dyed
fabrics were assessed following guidelines from The American Association of Textile Chemists and
Colorists (AATCC) and International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) testing methods.
Spectrophotometric experiments were employed to evaluate the colour strength (K/S) of the dyed
samples. The antimicrobial activity results showed that for both cotton and silk dyed fabric samples;
there was an interruption of the microbial growth beneath the fabric and a clear zone of inhibition
around the fabric. Dye ability and fastness results showed that dyed fabric samples with D. stramonium
extracts using mordants had relatively high colour strength (K/S) values as compared to the control
fabrics which were dyed without a mordant and their colorant was more stable to light, rubbing and
washing, respectively.
