Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research

ISSN 2736-1756

Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2013

Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr

© 2013 International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Experimental study on antimicrobial activity of cotton fabric treated with aloe gel extract from Aloe vera plant for controlling the Staphylococcus aureus (bacterium)

D. Jothi

Textile Engineering Department, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. E-mail:[email protected].

Accepted 29 April, 2013

Abstract

Biotechnology is a frontier area in science and technology having significant commercial applications in healthcare, agriculture, process industry and service sectors the world over. Ethiopia is in an advantageous position to harness the potential of biotechnology due to its unique strengths such as availability of technical expertise, skilled manpower, rich bio-resources and progressive government policies. The country is also rapidly emerging as a major market for biotech products. Today, new processes and products are closely linked with biotechnology in many research and industrial fields. There are the most diverse possibilities for its profitable use in the textile industry too. In this study, aloe gel has applied to 100% cotton fabric to develop antimicrobial fabric. In order to optimize the process parameter, cotton fabric was treated with Aloe vera extract (Aloe barbadensis Mill) at various concentrations that is 1, 2, 3 and 5 gpl at 60°C for 30 min by pad-dry –cure method. Methanol was used as a solvent for aloe gel extraction from Aloe vera plant. The finished fabric samples have been tested for activity as per the ATCC (Agar diffusion) method and quantitative analysis test method. The aloe gel treated fabrics exhibited antimicrobial activity against the Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538). The treated cotton fabrics have shown excellent antimicrobial activity at 5 gpl concentration. The wash durability of the treated sample was found good even after 50 wash.

Key words: Biotechnology, agar plate, micro organism, Aloe vera.