Screening Fungal Endophytes Derived from Under-Explored Egyptian Marine Habitats for Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties in Factionalised Textiles.

Marine endophytic fungi from under-explored locations are a promising source for the discovery of new bioactivities. Different endophytic fungi were isolated from plants and marine organisms collected from Wadi El-Natrun saline lakes and the Red Sea near Hurghada, Egypt. The isolated strains were grown on three different media, and their ethyl acetate crude extracts were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against a panel of pathogenic bacteria and fungi as well as their antioxidant properties. Results showed that most of the 32 fungal isolates initially obtained possessed antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The most potent antimicrobial extracts were applied to three different cellulose containing fabrics to add new multifunctional properties such as ultraviolet protection and antimicrobial functionality. For textile safety, the toxicity profile of the selected fungal extract was evaluated on human fibroblasts. The 21 strains displaying bioactivity were identified on molecular basis and selected for chemical screening and dereplication, which was carried out by analysis of the MS/MS data using the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) platform. The obtained molecular network revealed molecular families of compounds commonly produced by fungal strains, and in combination with manual dereplication, further previously reported metabolites were identified as well as potentially new derivatives.

Environmentally sound approach for imparting antibacterial and UV-protection functionalities to linen cellulose using ascorbic acid.

In this work, multifunctional linen cellulose fabrics were facilely developed by using an eco-friendly finishing formulations and the pad-dry/microwave fixation technique. Both reactant resin and citric acid have been employed as low- and zero-formaldehyde crosslinkers along with their proper catalyzing agents. Individual incorporation of ascorbic acid and selected phenolic compounds namely salicylic acid, resorcinol, and gallic acid, as natural active ingredient (AI-OH) along with PEG-400 or modified nonionic silicone-softener in ether- or ester-crosslinking formulation and their impacts on the performance, functional properties and degree of coloration of the finished fabrics were investigated. FTIR, SEM, and EDX analysis of selected samples were carried out. Results revealed that type of crosslinker, kind and concentration of active ingredient, as well as type of additive play an important role in the imparted functional properties. The durability of the imparted antibacterial and UV protection functional properties was confirmed by washing test.

Green options for imparting antibacterial functionality to cotton fabrics.

This study demonstrated that antibacterial cellulosic textiles can be fabricated in eco-friendly manner by grafting of monochlorotriazinyl ß-cyclodextin (MCT-ßCD) onto knitted and woven cotton fabrics followed by post-loading of any of the green active ingredients namely Rosemary oil, Lavender oil, Clove oil, Cinnamon oil, Aloe vera gel, Vanillin, Ag-ions, Natural Yellow 7 and Natural Red 25 dyes into the hydrophobic cavities of grafted ß-CD moieties. Some of the grafted, post-loaded fabric samples were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and EDS analysis. The enhancement in the imparted antibacterial functionality as well as durability to wash are governed by type of cellulosic substrate, kind, chemistry, antibacterial activity as well as extent of inclusion and subsequent release of the hosted bioactive agent. The obtained results revealed that the antibacterial efficacy follows the deceasing orders: i) knitted fabric > woven fabric and ii) Ag-ions > Lavender oil > Natural Yellow 7 > Aloe vera > Cinnamon oil > Natural Red 25 > Vanillin > Clove oil > Rosemary oil-loaded fabric sample, keeping other parameters constant.

Loading of chitosan - Nano metal oxide hybrids onto cotton/polyester fabrics to impart permanent and effective multifunctions.

New and durable multifunctional properties of cotton/polyester blended fabrics were developed through loading of chitosan (Cs) and various metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) namely ZnO, TiO2, and SiO2 onto fabric surface using citric acid/Sodium hypophosphite for ester-crosslinking and creating new anchoring and binding sites, COOH groups, onto the ester-crosslinked fabrics surface. The surface morphology and the presence of active ingredients (Cs & MONPs) onto selected - coated fabric samples were analyzed by SEM images and confirmed by EDS spectrums. The influence of various finishing formulations on some performance and functional properties such as wettability, antibacterial activity, UV-protection, self-cleaning, resiliency and durability to wash were studied. The obtained results revealed that the extent of improvement in the imparted functional properties is governed by type of loaded-hybrid and follows the decreasing order: Cs-TiO2NPs>Cs-ZnONPs>SiO2NPs>Cs alone, as well as kind of substrate cotton/polyester (65/35)>cotton/polyester (50/50). Moreover, after 15 washing cycles, the durability of the imparted functional properties of Cs/TiO2NPs - loaded substrates marginally decreased indicating the strong fixation of the hybrid components onto the ester-crosslinked substrates. The obtained bioactive multifunctional textiles can be used for producing eco-friendly protective textile materials for numerous applications.