Development of antimicrobial medical cotton fabrics using synthesized nanoemulsion of reactive cyclodextrin hosted coconut oil inclusion complex

Reactive cyclodextrin (RCD) based nanoemulsion and loaded with coconut oil in presence of Tween 80 emulsifying agent for development of antimicrobial medical cotton fabrics is the subject of current research. RCD based nanoemulsion was prepared at different stirring duration, viz, 2, 4, 6 and 24 h in presence of Tween 80. This was done in order to induce varieties in size and morphology of the nanoemulsion. The coconut oil encapsulated RCD based nanocomposite was precipitated as powder using centrifugation technique for 60 min at 4500 rpm and the resulted powder was investigated using TEM and SEM techniques. The images that provided by these techniques confirmed the nano-sized scale of the coconut oil loaded RCD nanocomposite. In addition, the entrapment efficiency of coconut oil loaded RCD based nanoemulsion after centrifugation was calculated and was found to more than 93 %; this is a proof for the successful inclusion of the coconut oil inside the cavity of RCD molecules. Moreover, the obtained RCD based nanoemulsions were applied to bleached cotton fabrics as per the pad-dry-cure method. The as treated cotton fabrics were monitored for nitrogen content, add-on, mechanical properties and morphology vis-a-vis those similarly treated fabrics but using the as prepared microemulsion of RCD loaded with coconut oil in absence of Tween 80. The morphological structure of cotton fabrics treated with the nanoemulsion in question was also examined using SEM technique. Moreover, the biological activity of the nanoemulsion finished fabrics before and after being submitted to 20 washing cycles was investigated against different types of bacteria and fungi as per the inhibition zone method. Results obtained signify: (i) deposition on the fabric of coconut oil loaded RCD nanoemulsion; (ii) the add-on of the nanoemulsion on the surface of cotton fabric is a manifestation of the stirring duration, proofing the formation of ultrafine oil nanoemulsion which penetrates the fabric surface; (iii) the finished fabrics display antimicrobial activity with clear excellent inhibition zone even after 20 washing cycles, indicating the protection of these fabrics for human beings from harmful microbes. In conclusion, the cotton fabrics treated with nanoemulsion of RCD loaded coconut oil is considered as an effective super antimicrobial medical textile against pathogenic microorganisms of both bacteria and fungus species.