Antimicrobial viscose fabric prepared by treatment in DBD and subsequent deposition of silver and copper ions—Investigation of plasma aging effect

In this work, the effect of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in ambient air on preparation of antimicrobial viscose fabric was studied. DBD plasma treatment was applied under constant discharge power and different exposure times. Vertical wicking test was used to evaluate optimal conditions for plasma treatment of viscose in order to increase fabricsʹ wettability and consequently improve sorption properties. Investigation of aging effect of plasma treatment revealed that there was no significant change in wettability of viscose samples 21 days after plasma treatment, which suggests good durability of treatment. After DBD plasma treatment, fabrics were modified with silver and copper ions in order to impart antimicrobial properties on viscose fabric. Viscose samples, modified with Ag (I) and Cu (II) ions immediately and 1, 7, 14 and 21 days after DBD treatment were tested in vitro against microorganisms S. aureus, E. coli and C. albicans using agar diffusion test. Obtained results showed that modification with DBD, prior to sorption of Ag (I) and Cu (II) ions, leads to improvement of antimicrobial activity of viscose samples, with a possibility to provide specific activity against different microorganisms by altering the days after DBD treatment prior ions sorption.