Authors Kallen Mulilo Nalyanya, Ronald K. Rop , Arthur Onyuka, Zephania Birech , Paul Kamau

Aloe barbadensis miller (Abm) mixed with carrageenan has been investigated as an alternative eco benign ingredient in mitigating hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) formation in thermally and photoaged wet blue and leather crust. The effect of post-tanning operations on the formation of Cr (VI) in wet blue and leather crusts due to spontaneous and accelerated ageing caused by exposure to the temperature of 80 “C and UV radiations for 132 hours is also presented. The Cr (VI) content was analyzed according to ISO 17075 standard procedure of Diphenyl carbazide and UV-VIS spectrophotometer at 540 nm. The levels of Cr (VI) in retanned wet blue leather were detectably high, while for tanned, dyed and fat liquored crusts, the levels were below detection limit of 0.2247 mg/kg. After ageing, the Cr (VI) content increased to a detectable level, the highest recorded in retanned wet blue, followed by fat liquored crust and with the lowest levels recorded in dyed wet blue leather. In all the aged samples, the levels were remarkably higher than the recommended 3 mg/kg. The levels of Cr (VI) in wet blue leathers processed with Aloe barbadensis miller/carrageenan were below detection limit of 3.587 mg/kg, even after exposing the samples to accelerated ageing conditions. Aloe barbadensis miller /carrageenan completely inhibits formation of Cr (VI) in wet blue and leather crusts. Aloe barbadensis miller/carrageenan will contribute to the eco benign and sustainable production of leather under the superior chrome-tanning technology.

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Author: Textile School

Physical properties of Fabrics, Physical properties are the static physical dimensions of fabric. The following physical properties are used to define the static physical dimensions of strand fabrics: Fiber or filament: type, size, length, Yarn: diameter, twist, weight or size, count, fiber content for mixed yarns, ply., Weight: ounces per squared or yards per pound., Thickness: vertical depth. Fabric structure. Woven fabrics: weave type, warp and filling yarn count per linear inch, Knitted fabric: knit type, wale and course count per inch, Finishes: chemicals such as resins, starches, waxes and mechanical effects such as Calendaring and napping applied to the woven fabric to yield or enhance style, durability, and utility values. Fabric width: The length of the filling or course, Colour: Hue, value, and intensity (degree of brilliance), Fabric density: weight per unit of volume. Surface contour: the geometric dimension of the surface plane. Physical characteristics of fabrics, Physical characteristics are the dynamic physical parameters of fabric. They are physical changes in the fabric that result from applying outside forces on the fabric. Most of the durability and utility values of fabric are characteristics and not properties. There are four major categories of fabric characteristics that interest the apparel manufacturer. They are Style characteristics, Utility characteristics, Durability characteristics, Product production characteristics, There are often correlations among the four types of characteristics. A utility characteristic such as fabric elongation will be correlated to a working character, Styleristic such as sewing without stretching. Style characteristics of a fabric, Style characteristics are those changes which affect the emotional appeal, the fabric imports to the consumer. This is exemplified when a consumer handles a fabric and refers to the fabric with adjectives such as stiff, soft, hand, etc. The three basic categories for style characteristics are: Hand characteristic – are the changes of the fabric plane with hand manipulations, which exert tensile compression, molding, or supporting forces on the fabric. The hand characteristics include some of the utility characteristics, such as elongation, elasticity, flexibility, etc., Tactile characteristics – refer to the changes in surface contour that result from a mechanical force exerted on or against the surface structure. These changes apply to the surface contour aspects of the fabric surface and not the fabric plane. The surface contour changes dimension under tactile pressure (no matter how small the pressure) this is a tactile characteristic. Pile, napped, and any fabric whose surface contour can be varied by tactile pressure, have obvious tactile characteristics. Designers specify tactile characteristics with terms such as soft, coarse, rough, hard, smooth sticky, oily and greasy. Visual characteristics – are the changes in the color values when either the fabric or light is moved. End – to – end shading, side – to – side shading and mark – off are three color quality problems in addition to metamorphic fabrics. End – to – end shading – refers to changes in shade throughout the length; the shade of one end of the bolt differs from the shade of another end. Side – to – side shading – refers to changes in shade from selvage to selvage; the shade of the fabric along one selvage differs from the shade of the fabric along the other selvage. Mark – off – in the fabric is the phenomena of changing the shade and/or the intensity of the fabric surface by rubbing it. Metamorphic – fabrics exhibit color difference with the change in the spectral distribution(characteristics) of the illuminant, Utility Characteristics, Utility characteristics are changes in the fit, comfort, and wearing functions of the garment when the fabric engages a mechanical thermal, electrical, or chemical force during the utilization of the garment. The two major types of utility characteristics are transmission and transformation. A transmission characteristic transmits mass or energy through the fabric. Transmission characteristics include: Air permeability (includes all gases and vapor), Heat transmission ( thermal conductivity), Light permeability, Moisture transmission, Radioactivity transmission (the degree with which radioactive energy such as x-ray and gamma rays can penetrate fabrics).Transformation characteristics charge a physical property of the fabric. The property dimension(s) is altered without destroying the fabric. Changes which disintegrate the fabric are durability characteristics. Transformation characteristics include: Colorfastness, Crease resistance, Crock resistance, Dimensional stability, Pilling, Shrinkage, Static electricity etc, Durability characteristics, Durability characteristics are the capacities of fabric to maintain the style and utility characteristics during wear. It is the measure of stress which destroys the fabric or the fabrics ability to repeat a desired style or utility characteristic. The durability characteristics are: Abrasive strength (the measure of rubbing action), Bursting strength (the measure of vertical pressure), Launder-ability (the measure of washing), Tearing strength, Moth resistance, Tensile strength, Radiation absorption strength (the rate at which radiation energy either disintegrate a fabric or destroys utility characteristics), Fire resistance, Corrosive strength ( the measure of chemical action, acid or alkaline), Dry cleaning durability ( the measure of dry cleaning performance), Product Production working characteristics, Product production working characteristics are those characteristics which affect the quality of production with respect to quality values and the cost of production method. The working characteristics of a fabric include: The coefficient of friction ( cutting, sewing, pressing and packing), Sewed seam strength, Sewed seam slippage (yarn slippage), Sewing distortions, Yarn severage, Bondability strength (fused, cemented, and heat – sealed seams, Pressing moldability (to what degree a flat piece of fabric may be skewed during pressing with hand and /press buck), Die moldability – how well a flat seamless piece of fabric may be molded with dies into a given from such as a bra cup or a hat.

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Author: Subrata Das, Dr.

The operation which is done for improving the appearance or look of the fabric is known as finishing. Fabrics generally carry various microorganisms which causes several problems to the wearer. The speedy growth in the textile industry has created many opportunities for variety of innovative finishes. In today’s world, naturally renewable resources are increasingly being required because of human dedication to protect environment. Apart from new innovations created using the fabric, value added finishing gives add up value to the fabric in this situation. During finishing process, the fabric attains beneficial characteristics like resistance to fire, wrinkle, mildew, etc. This high value-added fabrics have generated demanding consumer market. In the last few years, there is a growing awareness about the healthy and hygienic surrounding condition. The diseases normally spread from person to person and through the surface touch of the hands, clothes, etc. of that infected person. Antimicrobial fabrics have its large acceptance as surgical clothes, undergarments, baby clothing, etc. The antimicrobial finishing treatment is now extended to the traditional clothing and the home textiles. The antimicrobial agents kill or inhibit the growth of pathogens to control their effect. The natural fibers like cotton get easily attacked by the microbes, because of the presence of carbohydrates in the fibre. Antimicrobial finished fabrics have wide variety of applications in sports clothing, Footwear, medical textiles, furniture, automotive textiles, intimate apparels, etc. The presence of microorganism in the fabric causes unpleasant odor, staining and causes health problems. Microbial infections cause some danger to the skin and therefore, the garment which is worn next to the skin requires antimicrobial finish. To protect the skin of the wearer, the application of antimicrobial finish using some herbs are done. Two types of antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial agents are of two types: leaching and non-leaching. The synthetic antimicrobial agents such as quaternary ammonium compound, triclosan and many others are used for the antimicrobial finish. However, these synthetic antimicrobial agents are durable but they cause many side effects. Currently, the synthetic antimicrobial agents are banned according to the US and European standards, there is an increasing demand for eco-friendly antimicrobial textiles depend on natural antimicrobial agent such as chitosan which does not cause any harm to the wearer. There are various variety of herbs which are widely used as a traditional medicine in America, Africa, Europe, etc. for treating various type of diseases. The different parts from the organic plant such as papaya, aloe vera, neem, banana, hemp extracts can also be used for the purpose of antimicrobial finish. Many plants in the world contain the compound which is responsible for antimicrobial activity. There are various compounds in the plant which is responsible for the antibacterial activity such as tannin, flavonoids, terpenoids, etc. They are both bactericides (which kills the micro-organism) and bacteriostatic (which inhibit the growth of micro-organism). Environment friendly antimicrobial textile can be produced using plant extracts. Various plants have been gathered and they are tested for their antimicrobial activity. An effective study was regulated to evaluate the plant extracts both qualitatively (AATCC-147) and quantitatively (AATCC-100) for their antimicrobial activity. Although, the plant extracts have shown effective antimicrobial activity, the vital issue is the wash durability. The durability of antimicrobial ?nishing against washing was assessed using quantitative (ICP-OES) and semi-quantitative (LA-ICP-TOF-MS) methods. The physical properties (weight, thickness, fabric structure, count, EPI and PPI) of the fabric before and after application of finish have also been analyzed. There are various natural antimicrobial agents available, but limited studies have been carried out for their antimicrobial activity on to the textile materials.

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Authors Fiedler J.O. et al.

The microencapsulation of essential oils and its application in textile articles allows the aggregation of different functionalities to the substrates, imparting them antimicrobial properties, cosmetic effects, UV protection, application of drugs, among others. Therefore, the coacervation technique allows good results using starch to prepare the microcapsules. The objective of this work was the microencapsulation of Aloe Vera with cornstarch using the simple coacervation technique in cotton nonwoven fabric using butane tetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) as a binding agent. Optical and Scanning electron microscopy were performed to understand the morphology of the microcapsules obtained; thermogravimetry, to the comprehension of the thermal degradation of the microcapsules; mass gain percentage; FTIR was used to prove the interaction between nonwoven and microcapsule and finally, the CIE WI white index. The micrography allowed the observation of granular morphology, predominantly angular. The thermogravimetric curves have shown two significative thermal events: dehydration of the oil and degradation of the starch. The samples presented darker coloration; however, their quality was not compromised by the finishing. For this reason, the characterizations allowed to infer that the simple coacervation using this method is a simple process, with good results for the encapsulation of essential oils.

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Authors Subrata Das, Arunava Das,T, Sathyamangalam, Erode District, Tamil Nadu, India; &S. Rama Nivashini

Aloe barbadensis miller is one such product exhibiting anti-microbial activity. Recent advances in the field of dentistry have promoted the use of Aloe barbadensis miller for treatment of various oral diseases and periodontal conditions. There are different polysaccharides in Aloe barbadensis miller, such as glucomannan with different molecular weight, acetylated glucomannan, galactogalacturan, glucoga-lactomannan with different compositions as well as acetylated mannan or acemannan. Acemannan is a long chain polymer consisting of randomly acetylated linear D-mannopyranosyl units has immunomodulation, antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor properties Eco-friendly anti-microbial finishing on cotton woven fabric using Aloe barbadensis miller extract at various concentrations in the presence of eco-friendly cross-linking agent glyoxal by pad –dry –cure technique. Both the qualitative (AATCC –147, 1998) and quantitative (AATCC –100, 1998) evaluation was done to assess the degree of antibacterial activity of the Aloe barbadensis miller treated cotton fabric. The current trend deals with the potential of biotechnology in the textile industry. Now, there is a good deal of demand for the fabrics having functional/specialty finishes in general but antimicrobial finishes in particular to protect human being against microbes. The application of antimicrobial textile finishes includes a wide range of textile products for medical, technical, industrial, home furnishing and apparel sectors. The present investigation aims at developing an eco-friendly natural herbal finish from Aloe barbadensis miller extract for textile applications. The fabric exhibited high antimicrobial property at 5 g/l concentration. This is due to the fact that anti-microbial agent gets attached to the substrate through bond formation on the surface. The attached antimicrobial agent disrupts the cell membrane of the microbes through the physical and ionic phenomenon. The finishing agent inhibits growth of micro-organisms by using an electrochemical mode of action to penetrate and disrupt their cell walls. When the cell walls are penetrated, leakage of metabolites occurs and other cell functions are disabled, thereby preventing the organism from functioning or reproducing. Exhibition of less zone of inhibition for gram positive bacteria (Bacillusthuringiensis) is the reflection that Aloe barbadensis miller does show less antimicrobial activity against this bacterium.

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Authors Nurul Izwanie Rasli a , Hatijah Basri a,* , Zawati Harun b

Zinc oxide (ZnO) was biosynthesized from aloe vera plant extract. The aloe vera plant extract was used as a reducing agent in biosynthesis process. Green synthesis method was proposed because it is cost effective and environmentally friendly. ZnO was characterized using SEM, EDX, FTIR, and XRD analyses. The antibacterial property was tested against Escherichia coli. The effects of aloe vera volume (2–50) mL, precursor concentration (0.001–0.300) M, reaction time (20 min–48 h), and temperature of the reaction (26–200) “C on ZnO characteristics were investigated and screened using a two-level factorial method. Based on the observation and ANOVA analysis result, precursor concentration was the only significant parameter that affected the production of the ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). The EDX analysis proved the presence of ZnO while the SEM analysis confirmed the average size of ZnO particle size was in the range of (18–618) ?m with a rod-shape appearance. The XRD analysis showed that the average crystallite size was 0.452 ?m and it was in the hexagonal phase. It was also proven to have antibacterial property against E. coli. Nanomaterial research has been developing rapidly and has potential in various areas, including biomedical, magnetics sciences, biosensors, optoelectronics, and catalysis. In the past years, green synthesis of nanomaterials such as silver, zinc oxide, magnesium oxide, gold, cerium oxide, copper oxide and titanium dioxide has been conducted extensively due to simple work-up procedure, environmentally benign nature, reusable, low cost, and ease of isolation. The biosynthesized NPs are also stable, capped by the biological compound, robust, and economical compared to other NPs produced by standard techniques. ZnO is one of the most valuable nanomaterials and is potential to be used in the industry. Furthermore, ZnO has been recognized as safe to be used as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ZnO possesses a wide bandgap yield (3.37 eV) and high excitation binding energy (60 meV) in which it absorbs a larger reaction of the UV spectrum and exhibits a greater photocatalytic performance than TiO2 in the photodegradation of organic pollutants. Physical, chemical, and biological methods have been used to synthesize ZnO particles. The synthesis route determines the properties of the produced NPs in terms of its crystal growth, morphology, size, size distribution, stability, and aggregation. Due to the increasing popularity of biological methods, different sources like bacteria, fungus, algae, and plants have been used to produce ZnO NPs. Plant extract is used as an aid in the synthesis of NPs as it is cheap and safe to the environment. Various works on the use of plant extract to synthesize ZnO NPs have been reported. Aloe vera is also well known for its medicinal properties and has been used as a soothing agent for burn and inflammation. Furthermore, the therapeutic properties of aloe vera have been employed in the commercial applications of pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics. The extract of aloe vera plant has been used for the synthesis of gold, silver, copper oxide, indium oxide, titanium dioxide, cerium oxide, and tin oxide. Biosynthesis of ZnO using aloe vera extract, the biosynthesis of ZnO was conducted by applying a screening step using two-level factorial experimental design with the aid of Design Expert software. The purpose of the screening steps was to determine the parameters that influenced the production of the nanoparticles. Four parameters were studied, namely aloe vera volume, reaction time (stirring time), precursor concentration, and temperature. Antibacterial activity. After 24 h of incubation, the active inhibition zone measured was around 1.325 mm2. The existence of inhibition zone clearly indicates the involvement of membrane disruption and leads to the death of pathogens. ZnO is a well-known antibacterial agent and effective at very low concentration of bacteria as confirmed by previous studies. In addition, the small size of the biosynthesized ZnO provides a large surface area and this leads to more contact between the NPs and the bacterial cells. From the result, the biosynthesized ZnO from aloe vera plant extract has been proven to have antibacterial property, the biosynthesized NPs at various concentrations of 2–12 mM reacted against bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens, Proteus mirabilis, and Citrobacter freundii and as well as fungi like Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma harzianum, and Rhizopus stolonifera.

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Authors F. Saad, A.L. Mohamed, M. Mosaad, H.A. Othman, A.G. Hassabo,

The technical feasibility of using Aloe Vera Polysaccharide as a thickener for printing on cotton, wool, and polyester fabrics was examined. Alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, and DELL thickener P were mixed with aloe vera polysaccharide gel to enhance its rheological performance as a thickener in textile printing. The rheological properties of aloe vera polysaccharide gel-based printing pastes with and without different additives were studied. The effect of pH and a reducing agent on the prepared aloe vera polysaccharide gel-based thickeners was examined. The color strength (absorption and dispersion) and fastness of each printing paste were examined on each fabric. The fabrics printed with modified thickeners demonstrated superior rubbing fastness and handle compared with the standard printed samples and the optimal printing properties were achieved with a printing paste containing a 70/30 ratio of aloe vera polysaccharide gel to additive. Printing is a popular method of textile decoration and is defined as the localized application of a dye to specific areas of the substrate. This is usually accomplished by adding printing paste containing dyes or pigments to the fabric’s surface. Printing paste is a viscous liquid that contains dyes and other essential ingredients, and it is applied to the material using a variety of methods such as screen printing and roller printing. Thickeners are important in the formulation of printing paste because they modulate the consistency of the paste to ensure uniform flow during the printing process. The correct color, design definition, evenness, and softness are important factors of successful printing; these factors are affected by the type of thickener used. The use of artificial thickeners in the printing industry has several negative environmental consequences, including undesirable textile behavior, detrimental effects on plumbing systems, and environmental contamination. These negative effects can be reduced by replacing synthetic thickeners with eco-friendly, natural thickeners that are nonallergenic and nontoxic to humans, with few or no waste treatment issues or safety concerns. In addition, thickeners derived from natural plants are nonhazardous, cost-effective, eco-friendly, and do not cause fabric stiffness. Natural thickening agents are extracted from sources such as plants, seeds, algae, and microorganisms. Natural thickeners used in printing are mainly polysaccharides with numerous hydroxyl groups derived from plant exudates, seaweeds, seeds, and roots. Some of them are ideal for printing with a specific color class, but they must frequently be modified to meet printing requirements. Aloe vera gel is 99–99.5% water, with the remaining 0.5–1% solid material containing the polysaccharides and a variety of other compounds such as pectin, cellulose, hemicellulose, galactomannan, acemannan, amino acids, minerals, enzymes, phenolic compounds, and organic acids. Polysaccharides make up most of the dry matter of the aloe vera parenchyma. Recently, extracted aloe vera gel has been used as a thickener in the printing process, the rheological behavior of the aloe gel reportedly offers shear-thinning characteristics, which could be attributed to the gel’s high-water content. Modification might improve the rheological properties of aloe vera gel as a printing paste thickener. Thus far no modification of aloe vera gel has been attempted before using it as a thickener in textile printing. Because aloe vera gel possesses eco-friendly properties, any additives should be also eco-friendly to preserve the main advantage of using aloe vera gel as a thickening agent. Therefore, a new, simple modification process was used in this study. Different biopolymers and a synthetic thickener were added to the aloe vera gel before using it in printing paste. This modification is intended to increase the total solid content of the gel to overcome the rheological disadvantages of its unaltered behavior without reducing the advantages of using aloe vera gel. To determine the desired rheological behavior for a thickening agent in the paste printing process, the rheological properties of unmodified aloe vera gel were compared with two biopolymer-modified gels and one synthetic commercial thickener in this study. The rheological behavior of the modified thickeners was also studied, including the effect of pH and the effect of reducing agents on thickener behavior. The effect of the prepared aloe vera thickeners on the color strength, fastness, mechanical, and physical properties of the various printed fabrics was also assessed. As is standard practice, each fiber type must be printed with the correct printing paste under specific conditions (composition ratio, pH, thickener type, and behavior). Therefore, during this study, the different fabrics (cotton, wool, and polyester) were printed using the appropriate dyes for the fibers (reactive, acidic, or dispersed).

The post Enhancing the Rheological Properties of Aloe Vera Polysaccharide Gel for Use as an Eco-friendly Thickening Agent in Textile Printing Paste, appeared first on AMB Wellness.

Authors Ramratan Guru , Rohit Kumar , Deepika Grewal

All consumers nowadays preferences natural herbal textile dye garment items. These herbal dye cloths are better for the environment. It produces a chemical-free, non-toxic product that does not harm the environment or nature. Herbal textiles are coloured totally with herbal extracts and no chemicals are used. Herbs are utilized instead of vegetable colours since they are both natural and medicinal. Because synthetic dyes produce a great amount of waste and unfixed colorants represent a serious health danger and disrupt nature’s eco balance, these herbs are applied directly to the fabric with the help of natural substances, preserving the medicinal worth of the herbs. Consumer interest in natural dyes has resurfaced because of environmental concerns about the manufacturing and usage of synthetic colors. Natural herbal dyes were employed on the surface of linen fabrics in this investigation. Natural herbal colors such as turmeric, aloe vera, neem, beetroot, pomegranate, and onion were employed in this project. Edible gum and cow urine have been used to improve colour fastness and dye absorption. We’ve discovered that the appearance of natural dyes on linen fabric is excellent. It has been discovered that herbal dyes have excellent dry and wet rubbing fastness properties on linen fabric surfaces. The main purpose of this study is to develop a novel method to natural herbal dyes that may be used more broadly in the textile industry. It will also help to prevent problems such as skin allergies and infections.

The post Study about Linen Fabric on the Surface Applied Natural Herbal Dyes to Improving the Colour Fastness and Absorbency Characteristic Properties, appeared first on AMB Wellness.

Authors Meram S. Abdelrahman, Sahar H. Nassar, Hamada Mashaly, Safia Mahmoud, Dalia Maamoun, Tawfik A. Khattab

Thickeners have been used as a significant component in textile printing pastes. They are characterized with high molecular weight, high viscosity in an aqueous medium, good storage, long hydration time consistent with other printing paste components and being colorless. They impart plasticity and stickiness to the print paste with the ability to introduce designs without bleeding. The major function of printing pastes is to hold, adhere and transfer the dyestuff onto the targeted fabric. There have been various well known synthetic and natural thickeners. Color is a major significant factor in textile manufacturing and application employing either natural or synthetic dyestuffs for conventional or smart textiles. Thickeners are known as thick materials which can impart gumminess and plasticity to the printing pastes so that it can be applied on the cloth surface with a specific design outline and without bleeding or scattering. Hence, thickeners are generally functioning with the following advantages: To provide the essential viscosity to the print paste, to carry the printing ingredients into the fabric surface, to prevent premature interaction between the printing ingredients. There are four important approaches to generate thickeners: low concentration of high molecular weight polymers, high concentration low molecular weight materials, emulsion of two immiscible fluids, dispersion of finely divided solids (e.g. Bentonite). Quality of printing paste depends on the following desirable properties of thickeners: Printing paste stability to storage, pressure and temperature, properties of produced dry film, effects on color yield (e.g. diffusion and fixation), preparation simplicity, removal from fabric surface, low price and easily obtained, easy to remove by washing after drying, homogeneous distribution of printing paste, environmental impacts, styles and techniques of printing, type of fabric used, compatibility and stability to different printing ingredients including dyes and auxiliaries, provide sharp outlines without bleeding or spreading, good mechanical properties, to prevent dusting of dry film, good diffusion to provide maximum color yield, good absorption of condensed water to guarantee free space for dye and water, molecules to penetrate into the fibers, It should not hold the colorant or keep it away from fabric, good drying to prevent spreading and wetting, transparency and good solubility, to avoid “fish-eyes”. Therefore, a variety of polysaccharides derivatives, synthetic polymeric materials, and emulsion thickening agents were developed. Those developed thickening agents were characterized by plasticity and stickiness to clothing with sharp outlines. The choice of a thickening agent largely depends on the type of dye and style of printing. According to compatibility between both of dye and thickener, broad rules for the choice of thickener have been laid. For example, reactive dyes are used with Sodium Alginates which comprise fewer crosslinking properties, while pigments were used with synthetic thickeners, in addition to binder. The choice of a thickening agent also depends on the fabric characteristics. Thickeners function as a carrier of coloring matter, chemicals, solvents, and auxiliaries, bringing it into close contact with fabric surface during the coloration process. Thickeners are expected to create acceptable adhesion and consistent distribution of the printing pastes to fabric surface. Thickeners prevent the separation of the dye to occur which results in level prints with sharp outlines; at the same time as thickeners should possess the required physical and chemical properties (e.g. viscosity and flow property). The storage stability of the thickener paste must be high enough. It should be compatible and inert to dyes and other auxiliaries included in the printing paste. They should possess the ability to absorb steaming water without flushing. They are expected to have high-quality thermal and photo-stability without film break during the high temperature steam or thermal fixation. The removal of the thickener from the fabric surface after fixation should be straightforward. Among the commonly known thickening agents are biological polymers, chemically customized biological polymers such as sodium alginate, starch or customized starch, galactomannan or customized galactomannan, and carboxymethyl cellulose.

The post Review in Textile Printing Technology. appeared first on AMB Wellness.

Authors Son K, Yoo DI, Shin Y

Recently, there has been a growing concern of consumers for natural dyed and functional fabrics. To meet this, research on natural dyed fabrics with functionality are being conducted. A new terminology, so-called ‘cosmetic textiles’, is a consequence of the fusion of cosmetics and the textile industry through various techniques, such as micro-encapsulation and has now opened new target groups and sustainable markets in the textile industry. The group of textiles that works to provide a moisturizing effect on human skin is called cosmetic textiles for moisturizing. Vitamin E belongs to the group of liquid-soluble vitamins and its chemical term is alpha-tocopherol. Since vitamin E shuts out hazardous oxygen, which is the cause of skin aging, and offers a superior moisturizing effect, it is often used as a functional cosmetics material. Furthermore, vitamin E has been widely used as a useful ingredient in drug medicine, food, etc. However, vitamin E is subject to oxidation due to the low reliability on external factors, such as heat and oxygen. These disadvantages make it difficult to apply vitamin E directly to textile finish. In cosmetic textile fields, micro-encapsulation techniques containing core materials, or functional materials, such as fragrant, phase change material, and antimicrobials are being applied to improve safety and durability of functional materials. Also, with microcapsules containing vitamin E for underwear, T-shirts, and bedding, which all have direct contact with the skins, the effect of vitamin E on the skin will be able to be sustained for a long period of time. Meanwhile, the application of natural dyes on textile materials is gaining worldwide popularity due to the increasing awareness of environment, ecology and pollution control. Natural indigo showing distinctive blue color is one of the oldest known dyestuffs. It is excellent in colorfastness and functionality such as antimicrobial properties, deodorization and anti-insect properties, compared with other natural dyes. The fixation of vitamin E microcapsules was carried out by pad-dry-cure method on dyed cotton knit. Cotton knit was dyed with natural indigo, and subsequently treated with microcapsules containing vitamin E. To improve the hand of the microcapsules-treated fabric, a softener was treated in a simultaneous step with microcapsules or in a separate step after dyeing process. The treated fabrics were evaluated for SEM observation, amount of vitamin E, physical properties, and color.

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