Abstract:

A review of the antibacterial mechanism of chitosan (CS) and the current status of the development of antimicrobial textile was conducted for the purpose of investigating the application of CS to textiles. The effects of molecular weight(MW), degree of deacetylation(DD), solution concentration, pH value, kinds of solvents and derivatives of CS on its antibacterial activity were discussed. It was found by practice that CS with medium MW and high DD, which dissolved in acetic acid at a concentration of over 2.5g/L with pH value more than 4, possesses excellent antibacterial activity, which can be furthe enhanced by the derivation of CS. It was shown through analysis that at present there are two ways to produce antimicrobial textile with CS, i.e., fixing CS to the traditional textile and producing CS fiber products. For the former, the antibacterial activity reduces gradually with washing times. For the latter, it has permanent effect. However, further research is needed for products with good antimicrobial performance.