Effect of Antimicrobial Finish on Aesthetic property of Polyester Fabric

Antimicrobial fabric is suitable for providing protective covering to the medicinal industry, army uniform, casual wear, and household furnishing as well as for general public usage. The environmentally friendly antibacterial finish was extracted from leaves of Azadirachata indica, Butea monosperma and Litchi chinensis trees leaves and then applied on 100% polyester. Before and after applying the antimicrobial finish, fabric property was checked. The antimicrobial finish was applied by the pad dry cure method and the finish was fixed by using of polyurethane binder. Under aesthetic properties, stiffness and surface appearance were checked. The stiffness of the fabric was checked by Shirley Stiffness tester and surface appearance was checked by using AATCC Technical Manual /2004 TM 124-2001 203 test method. The aesthetic properties (smoothness, surface appearance) of the antimicrobial finish had a positive effect on 100% polyester. Results showed thatusing an antimicrobial finish made from the leaves of A. indica , B. monosperma , and L. chinensis reduced the amount of bacteria on polyester fabric by 100% when compared to the control group. The result showed that antimicrobial finish increased the stiffness while smoothness appearance was decreased in case of A. indica and B. monosperma and increased in case of L. chinensis.