Abstract:

Significance Apparel textiles act as a vital interface between the human body and the surrounding environment, not only regulating the exchange of energy (e.g., heat and light) and substances (e.g., water vapor and dust) but also functioning as a barrier against pathogenic microorganisms. Critically, this antimicrobial function must be moderate in inhibiting growth of harmful microorganisms while preserving the symbiotic flora on human skin, which is essential for maintaining a healthy micro-ecological balance. From the perspective of microbiomics, the human body is a ″superorganism″ co-constructed by the human genome and symbiotic microbial genes. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and health awareness, the demand for high-performance antibacterial and deodorant textiles is growing rapidly, making it urgent to systematically understand the emerging technologies and clarify development directions, which is the core significance of this study.

Progress This study systematically reviews the latest progress in antimicrobial and deodorant textile technologies. It first points out the limitations of traditional technologies. Blend spinning leads to the waste of antimicrobial agents (only surface agents are effective) and reduces fiber spinnability, while fabric finishing often requires cross-linking agents, resulting in hard hand feel and environmental pollution. Two advanced technologies with great promotion potential are then analyzed in detail. Supercritical fluid technology (using CO₂ under critical conditions of 31.1 ℃ and 7.38 MPa) enables the precise fixation of antimicrobial agents on the shallow surface of fibers, with a dosage of only a few thousandths of the fiber mass. A case study by Nanjing Hesu Group shows that cotton treated with this technology retains excellent antibacterial effects even after mercerization, and the treated cashmere maintains a soft hand feel. Electron beam irradiation grafting technology achieves stable covalent bonding between antibacterial agents and fibers, with some products maintaining over 70% antimicrobial rate after 150 wash cycles. The key is to balance the irradiation dose, and it is evidenced that cotton loses 29.8% strength at 33 kGy under pre-irradiation, while polyester only loses 3.8% strength at 50 kGy. Additionally, the bionic antimicrobial idea of constructing nano-structures (e.g., 80 nm-diameter silicon pillars) on fiber surfaces is discussed, which achieves targeted microbial resistance by mechanically damaging cell membranes, though it is still in the exploratory stage.

Conclusion and Prospect Supercritical CO₂ technology has been verified by the market and is a mature and promotable technology, effectively solving the problems of conventional processes. In terms of electron beam irradiation technology, with its outstanding long-term antibacterial performance, dose parameters need to be further optimized in order to be applied to different fiber types. For electromagnetic radiation technologies such as microwave and ultraviolet equipment improvement is necessary to overcome the limitation of insufficient penetration depth. The nano-structure antimicrobial technology, as an effective way to achieve targeted and moderate antibacterial effects, is of great scientific significance but faces challenges in preparation processes and mechanism research. Future research success relies on the strengthening of interdisciplinary cooperation among textile science, microbiology, and nanotechnology, focusing on solving the key issues of fiber surface nano-structure preparation and the matching mechanism between structures and different microorganisms, thereby breaking the dilemma of ″indiscriminate sterilization″ and promoting the high-quality development of the antibacterial textile industry.

Key words: functional textiles, supercritical CO₂ technology, electron beam irradiation grafting, targeted antimicrobial, antimicrobial agent, antimicrobial and deodorant fabric