JP2007046208A - Method for processing fiber with antimicrobial agent - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for processing fibers with silver antimicrobial agents preventing discoloration or somberness of fiber products in applying to white fibers or fiber products. <P>SOLUTION: The processing method comprises preparation of the antimicrobial agents for fibers comprising 1 pts.wt. of isolated whey protein (purified whey protein), 0.01-0.1 pts.wt. of a water soluble silver compound and 0.001-0.1 pts.wt. of cycteine and its derivative, and diluting the microbial agent to 0.5-5 wt.% and processing at pH 8-11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an antibacterial processing method for fibers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an antibacterial processing method for fibers in which the discoloration of the fibers seen when processing silver antibacterial agents into fibers is reduced.

  Due to the growing interest in antibacterial activities in daily life, many attempts have been made on antibacterial processing agents and processing techniques for textile products. By incorporating antibacterial agents into textile materials and post-processing of textile products, textile products A treatment for imparting antibacterial properties is actually performed.

On the other hand, there is an increasing demand for safety, and safety considerations are also required for antibacterial processing agents and antibacterial processing technologies for textile products. For example, Japanese Patent No. 329681 (Patent Document 1) proposes a fiber treatment composition containing chitosan which is an antibacterial component derived from a natural component which is said to have high safety.

As an antibacterial component having both safety and antibacterial properties, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-344798 (Patent Document 2) discloses a water-soluble composition in which the active thiol group content in the protein is 0.1 to 200 μmol / g. A water-insoluble silver-containing complex protein obtained by bringing a protein of this type into contact with a silver salt in water has been proposed.
JP-A-2002-308708 (Patent Document 3) discloses a silver antibacterial agent and an antibacterial property imparted object treated with the silver antibacterial agent without reducing the excellent antibacterial activity of the silver antibacterial agent, in particular, discoloration of the sheet. A discoloration inhibitor for silver-based antibacterial agents composed of a compound having a thiol group is proposed, which can prevent yellowing or dullness when applied to white fibers or textiles. was there.

Japanese Patent No. 3296813 JP 2000-344798 A JP 2002-308708 A

When silver-based antibacterial agents such as silver-containing composite proteins, silver zeolite, and silver colloids are processed into fibers, yellowing and dullness occur due to the silver-based antibacterial agent being fixed only on the fiber surface, and in particular, white fibers Or in a textile product, it leads to the fall of quality and commercial value.
This invention makes it a subject to provide the processing method to the fiber of a silver type antibacterial agent which does not produce discoloration and a dullness even when it applies to a white fiber or textiles.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have found that 0.01 to 0.1 parts by weight of a water-soluble silver compound, cysteine and its derivatives per 1 part by weight of whey separated whey protein. The fiber antibacterial agent containing 0.001 to 0.1 parts by weight is diluted to 0.5 to 5% by weight to obtain a processing liquid, and treated with pH 8 to 11 to obtain white fibers or fiber products. The present inventors have found the fact that even when applied, no discoloration or dullness occurs and an excellent antibacterial effect can be imparted. Furthermore, the present inventors have found that washing resistance can be obtained and antibacterial properties can be maintained without using a binder, and the present invention has been completed.

  Thus, according to this invention, a fiber containing 0.01 to 0.1 parts by weight of a water-soluble silver compound and 0.001 to 0.1 parts by weight of cysteine and its derivatives with respect to 1 part by weight of whey separated whey protein. When treating fibers with antibacterial agents, antibacterial processing methods for fibers, comprising treating the fibers with a processing solution diluted to 0.5 to 5% by weight with a pH of 8 to 11 Is provided.

According to the fiber antibacterial processing method of the present invention, excellent antibacterial properties can be imparted without causing discoloration or dullness even when applied to white fibers or fiber products. In addition, even if no binder is used in combination, washing resistance can be obtained and antibacterial properties can be maintained, which is extremely useful industrially.

The method of the present invention uses a processing liquid in which an antibacterial agent for fibers composed of whey separated whey protein, a water-soluble silver compound, cysteine and derivatives thereof having a specific blending ratio is diluted to 0.5 to 5% by weight, Process the fiber at pH 8-11.
If the concentration of the processing liquid diluted with the antibacterial agent for fibers is less than 0.5% by weight, the antibacterial effect on the fiber is insufficient, and if it exceeds 5% by weight, discoloration of the fibers and This is not preferable because dullness occurs.

In addition, when the processing solution diluted with the antibacterial agent for fibers is processed into fibers, if the pH is less than 8 or exceeds 11, the penetrability of the processing solution into the fibers deteriorates, causing discoloration and dullness of the fibers. Is not preferable. Alkaline agents such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide can be used to adjust the pH, but softening agents for fibers, antistatic agents, anti-pilling agents, anti-slip agents, texture modifiers, improved sewing properties It is preferable to use an alkaline agent such as a finishing agent that can impart flexibility and texture to the fiber, and other functions that improve the workability and wearing feeling of the fiber.

The method for processing the fiber is not particularly limited as long as it can be uniformly attached to or contained in the fiber or the fiber product. Specifically, application to the surface of the fiber or fiber product, impregnation by spraying and dipping, etc. are appropriately selected from known methods such as dipping, exhaustion, and spraying treatment depending on the material and shape of the fiber. Can be done. Moreover, there is no problem even if the shape of the fiber to be adhered is any of a fiber shape, a thread shape, and a cloth (raw fabric) shape. In general, adhesion to or inclusion in a cloth (raw fabric) can be performed by a dipping method such as padding, a spraying process from a spray nozzle, various printing or printing methods. Moreover, adhesion to the fiber product having the form as the final product can be performed by a method such as immersion or exhaustion.

As the whey separated whey protein used in the antibacterial agent for fibers by the method of the present invention, commercially available products can be suitably used. Whey separated whey protein (WPI) is a product obtained by separating and purifying whey protein (WPC). Whey protein is originally a protein that contains a relatively large amount of cystine, and is present in a large amount in whey produced as a by-product during cheese production. High content.

  Moreover, silver nitrate, silver acetate, etc. can be used suitably as a water-soluble silver compound used for the antibacterial agent for textiles by the method of this invention.

Furthermore, in the method of the present invention, examples of cysteine and derivatives thereof used for fiber antibacterial agents include cysteine (L-cysteine, D-cysteine and a mixture thereof), N-acetyl-L-cysteine, and the like. From the viewpoint of suppressing discoloration and dullness, it is preferable to use N-acetyl-L-cysteine.

On the other hand, in the method of the present invention, it is a preferred embodiment that polyvinyl alcohol is further added to the antibacterial agent for fibers composed of whey separated whey protein, water-soluble silver compound, cysteine and derivatives thereof. As the polyvinyl alcohol, commercially available ones can be suitably used. However, the use of one having a degree of saponification of about 87 to 89 mol% and a degree of polymerization of 1700 can cause discoloration and dullness of the fibers. It is preferable from the point of suppression.

In the method of the present invention, the blending ratio of each component of the antibacterial agent for fibers is 0.01 to 0.1 parts by weight of a water-soluble silver compound, cysteine and its derivatives with respect to 1 part by weight of whey separated whey protein. It is preferable to set it as 0.001-0.1 weight part. Further, when polyvinyl alcohol is further blended, it is preferable that the polyvinyl alcohol is 0.1 to 1 part by weight with respect to 1 part by weight of the whey separated whey protein.

Examples of the fibers to be antibacterial processed by the method of the present invention include natural fibers such as cotton, silk and wool, regenerated fibers such as viscose rayon, semi-synthetic fibers such as triacetate and diacetate, polyester, nylon and acrylonitrile. Examples thereof include synthetic fibers and blended fibers thereof, and any of felt-like materials, knitted fabrics, and woven fabrics may be used.

  In addition, as a textile product subjected to antibacterial processing, products obtained by processing the above-mentioned fibers, such as clothing, towels, nonwoven fabrics, bedding (beds, futons, sheets, pillow covers, etc.), indoor products (tatami mats, curtains) , Carpets, carpets, etc.) furniture (sofas, cloth chairs, etc.), in-car supplies (sheets, child seats, etc.), paper products (paper paper, shoji paper, wallpaper, etc.), kitchen supplies, baby items, air purifiers, etc. Examples include, but are not limited to, filters for air cleaners.

(Example)
The present invention will be described in detail by preparation examples and test examples, but the present invention is not limited by these preparation examples and test examples.

(Preparation example)
Whey separated whey protein (4 g), silver nitrate (0.18 g) and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (0.036 g) were weighed and separately dissolved in pure water in advance. Furthermore, polyvinyl alcohol (degree of saponification: about 87 to 89 mol%, degree of polymerization: 1700) was dissolved in water and dissolved by heating at 95 ° C. for 2 hours to prepare a 10% solution, and 40 g was weighed.
Each solution was put into a beaker and stirred and mixed with a homomixer to prepare an antibacterial agent for fibers.

(Test example)
The antibacterial agent for fibers obtained in the preparation example was diluted with ion-exchanged water to a concentration of 1% to obtain a processing liquid. Using this processing solution adjusted to pH 8.8 with potassium hydroxide, a cotton knit fluorescent bleached standard fabric was padded so that the pickup rate would be 100%, and then dried at 105 ° C. for 20 minutes. A processed cloth was obtained. Further, a cotton knit fluorescent bleached standard fabric was treated in the same manner using a fiber processing solution whose pH was not adjusted (pH = 6.8) to obtain a comparative example processed fabric.
Example processed cloth, comparative example processed cloth and unprocessed cloth were allowed to stand for 7 days under the conditions of 70% humidity and 80 ° C., and then colored with a spectrocolorimeter (Minolta, CM-2600d). Evaluated. In addition, in accordance with JIS L 1902: 2002 antibacterial test method and antibacterial effect (quantitative test bacterial absorption method) of textile products, evaluation of antibacterial properties of example processed cloth, comparative example processed cloth and unprocessed cloth did. These results are shown in Table 1.

It can be seen that the color of the example processed fabric is significantly reduced as compared with the comparative example processed fabric. In addition, it can be seen that the processed fabrics of the examples are given antibacterial properties superior to those of the non-processed fabrics, and also have washing resistance.

Claims (3)

Antibacterial fibers with an antibacterial agent for fibers containing 0.01 to 0.1 parts by weight of a water-soluble silver compound and 0.001 to 0.1 parts by weight of cysteine and derivatives thereof per 1 part by weight of whey separated whey protein An antibacterial processing method for fibers, characterized in that the processing is performed at a pH of 8 to 11 using a processing liquid in which the antibacterial agent for fibers is diluted to 0.5 to 5% by weight. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein the fiber antibacterial agent further contains 0.1 to 1 part by weight of polyvinyl alcohol with respect to 1 part by weight of whey separated whey protein. The processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein cysteine and a derivative thereof are N-acetyl-L-cysteine.