Antibacterial property on Gram-positive bacteria of polypyrrole-coated fabrics

Antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria of polypyrrole-coated fabrics has been demonstrated in the past. In this work, biocidal efficacy of polypyrrole has been evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria on textiles with different polypyrrole loading. Excellent bacterial reduction (>=99%) was found on cotton fabrics containing more than 9 wt % of polypyrrole. Polypyrrole loading can be greatly reduced in presence of silver. Silver-containing fabrics used in this work alone does not guarantee a complete biocidal effect, but the addition of just 2 wt % of polypyrrole showed a bacteria reduction of 99%. Moreover, stability to different washing procedures of the antibacterial activity was evaluated. Fabrics were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and infrared spectroscopy. Stability of the coating was assessed by abrasion tests. PPy showed excellent fastness to abrasion.