Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Technology and Society Laboratory, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Environ Int. 2013 Mar;53:62-73. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2012.12.010. Epub 2013 Jan 21.
Many antimicrobial technologies are available for textiles. They may be used in many different textile applications to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Due to the biological activity of the antimicrobial compounds, the assessment of the safety of these substances is an ongoing subject of research and regulatory scrutiny. This review aims to give an overview on the main compounds used today for antimicrobial textile functionalization. Based on an evaluation of scientific publications, market data as well as regulatory documents, the potential effects of antimicrobials on the environment and on human health were considered and also life cycle perspectives were taken into account. The characteristics of each compound were summarized according to technical, environmental and human health criteria. Triclosan, silane quaternary ammonium compounds, zinc pyrithione and silver-based compounds are the main antimicrobials used in textiles. The synthetic organic compounds dominate the antimicrobials market on a weight basis. On the technical side the application rates of the antimicrobials used to functionalize a textile product are an important parameter with treatments requiring lower dosage rates offering clear benefits in terms of less active substance required to achieve the functionality. The durability of the antimicrobial treatment has a strong influence on the potential for release and subsequent environmental effects. In terms of environmental criteria, all compounds were rated similarly in effective removal in wastewater treatment processes. The extent of published information about environmental behavior for each compound varies, limiting the possibility for an in-depth comparison of all textile-relevant parameters across the antimicrobials. Nevertheless the comparative evaluation showed that each antimicrobial technology has specific risks and benefits that should be taken into account in evaluating the suitability of different antimicrobial products. The results also indicated that nanoscale silver and silver salts that achieve functionality with very low application rates offer clear potential benefits for textile use. The regular care of textiles consumes lots of resources (e.g. water, energy, chemicals) and antimicrobial treatments can play a role in reducing the frequency and/or intensity of laundering which can give potential for significant resource savings and associated impact on the environment.
许多抗菌技术可用于纺织品。它们可以用于许多不同的纺织品应用中，以防止微生物生长。由于抗菌化合物的生物活性，这些物质的安全性评估是一个持续的研究和监管审查主题。本综述旨在概述当今用于抗菌纺织品功能化的主要化合物。基于对科学出版物、市场数据和法规文件的评估，考虑了抗菌剂对环境和人类健康的潜在影响，并考虑了生命周期的观点。根据技术、环境和人类健康标准，总结了每种化合物的特点。三氯生、硅烷季铵化合物、吡啶硫酮锌和基于银的化合物是纺织品中使用的主要抗菌剂。合成有机化合物在重量基础上主导着抗菌剂市场。在技术方面，用于功能化纺织产品的抗菌剂的应用率是一个重要参数，处理所需的剂量率较低，在达到功能所需的活性物质方面具有明显的优势。抗菌处理的耐久性对释放的潜力和随后的环境影响有很强的影响。在环境标准方面，所有化合物在废水处理过程中的有效去除方面的评价相似。关于每种化合物的环境行为的已发表信息的程度各不相同，限制了对所有与纺织品相关参数进行深入比较的可能性。尽管如此，比较评估表明，每种抗菌技术都有其特定的风险和优势，在评估不同抗菌产品的适用性时应予以考虑。结果还表明，以非常低的应用率实现功能的纳米银和银盐为纺织品的使用提供了明显的潜在优势。纺织品的日常护理会消耗大量资源（如水、能源、化学品），抗菌处理可以在减少洗涤的频率和/或强度方面发挥作用，从而为节约资源和减少对环境的相关影响提供潜在的机会。
