JPH01250413A - Antifungal acrylic fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the title fiber imparted with antifungal nature without impairing the inherent fiber performance, by incorporating the original fiber with a bacteriocidal metallic ion-holding zeolite. CONSTITUTION:The objective fiber can be obtained by incorporating at least the surface layer with zeolite [e.g., aluminosilicate of the formula xM2/nO.Al2 O3.ySiO2.zH2O (M is metallic ion capable of ion exchange, e.g., Cu, Ag, Zn, n is valence of M; x and y are each factor; z is number of crystal water)]-based granules.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to acrylic fibers having antibacterial properties.

(Prior Art) Acrylic fibers are widely used mainly in clothing and interior applications. However, in recent years, there has been a strong demand for antibacterial properties in applications that come into contact with sweat secreted by the human body, such as socks, bathroom mats, and carpets, especially in underwear and blankets for bedridden elderly people.

Conventional methods for imparting antibacterial properties to fibers include coating or spraying a substance with bactericidal action on the fiber surface, or immersing the fiber in a solution of a substance with bactericidal action. The disinfectant does not last long, the applied disinfectant easily falls off when washed, etc. The disinfectant itself is a harmful substance, so it cannot be used on children who may put it in their mouths, or used textile products There are many problems such as the tendency to generate harmful gases when incinerated.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Therefore, the present inventors have investigated various methods for imparting antibacterial properties to acrylic fibers that overcome the above-mentioned problems, and have found that the most effective method is to incorporate metal ions with bactericidal properties into the fibers. We have found that this is effective and have led to the present invention.

It has been well known since ancient times that metal ions such as copper, silver, and zinc have bactericidal effects. Attempts have been made to obtain antibacterial fibers by retaining these metal ions in fibers. For example, methods are known in which a metal compound is kneaded into a raw material polymer to form fibers, and a method is surface-treated to cause the fiber surface to contain metal ions.

One method of incorporating a metal compound into acrylic fibers is to include an organic functional group having ion exchange ability or complex forming ability in the acrylic fiber, and to have the organic functional group hold the metal ion. However, the physical properties of acrylic fibers are likely to change significantly due to the interaction between organic functional groups and the so-called acrylic polymer that forms acrylic fibers, and the type and amount of organic functional groups used are likely to be extremely restricted. Including. The method of surface-treating #ia to contain metal ions on the fiber surface requires complicated processing technology, and the processing cost is enormous.
However, this is unsatisfactory considering that the need for bedding supplies for bedridden elderly people, etc., is required to be inexpensive and for so-called sea shipping, which has become increasingly necessary in recent years.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention resides in an antibacterial acrylic fiber containing zeolite solid particles that retain metal ions having a bactericidal effect in at least the surface layer of the fiber.

Zeolite is generally an aluminone ricade having a three-dimensionally developed ribbed structure, and is generally 1M2/no-At203 ・yS i○2・ based on At, 03.
It is indicated by z H20. Here, M represents an ion-exchangeable metal ion, usually a mono- or divalent metal, n corresponds to this valence, and X and y represent the mixing ratio of metal oxide and silica, respectively. In the coefficient shown, 2 represents the number of water of crystallization.

As this metal M, a metal with bactericidal properties such as copper, silver, and zinc is introduced into zeolite with a particle size of 1 to 50 μm by ion exchange, and then dried to retain the bactericidal metal ions used in the present invention. Zeolite is obtained.

When such zeolite elementary particles containing sterilizing metal ions are mixed into fibers to impart antibacterial properties, so-called melt-spun fibers such as nylon and polyester are sterilized because they are exposed to heat exceeding 200°C during the process. The metal ions that have the antibacterial properties are oxidized to metal oxides and their antibacterial properties are lost. However, since Aku IJ/L/ type fibers are rarely subjected to such high-temperature thermal history, the metal ions are oxidized to metal oxides and lose their antibacterial properties. It does not oxidize into substances and is stable during the fiber manufacturing process, and the resulting fibers retain sufficient antibacterial properties.

However, the bactericidal effect of metal ions, which have bactericidal properties, can only be exerted when bacteria come into contact with the metal ions, and if the bacteria are uniformly dispersed in the fibers, the effect will be less than half. . In the present invention, in order to have a more antibacterial effect, by incorporating zeolite-based particles holding bactericidal metal ions into at least the surface layer of the fiber, a sufficient antibacterial effect can be provided even with a small amount added. It is preferable that the zeolite particles holding sterilizing metal ions in the surface layer of the fibers contain at least α01% by weight. As a method for distributing germicidal metal ion-holding zeolite particles intensively on the surface layer of fibers,
It is preferable to use a sheath core type conjugate method in which a normal stock solution for acrylic fibers is placed in the core part and a stock solution for acrylic fibers containing zeolite particles holding bactericidal metal ions is placed in the sheath part. Of course, the zeolite particles may be contained in both the surface layer and the inside of the fiber.

The acrylic yarn fiber as referred to in the present invention is not subject to any restrictions on the content of acrylonitrile in the constituent polymer, and may include so-called modacrylic fibers of around 50% polyacrylonitrile, which is an acrylonitrile A/100% polymer. included. Further, as for the spinning method, any of the commonly used wet spinning, dry spinning, and dry-wet spinning can be used.

(Example) The details of the present invention will be explained below using Examples.

In the examples, the antibacterial effect was evaluated by the following test method.

(υ Test method for evaluating antibacterial properties) The test fiber was knitted into a test knitted fabric dated 7097m'' using a circular knitting machine.The sample was dyed blue with a cationic dye using a conventional method and used for evaluation.

Physiological saline containing 105 cells/- of bacterial cells was dropped onto a test knitted fabric measuring 50 m x 50 sw in a petri dish, and
After culturing at 7° C. for 18 hours, the bacterial cells were washed off from the test knitted fabric with physiological saline, and the number of bacteria in the solution was measured.

What about test bacteria? 2. Co11. P, Aerygi
Nosa was used.

Example 1 94 parts by weight of acrylonitrile, methi acrylate/L15
parts by weight, 25 parts by weight of acrylonitrile copolymer consisting of 1 part by weight of sodium methallylsulfonate, and 110 parts by weight of Y-type zeolite containing 1.5% by weight each of copper and silver as metallic ions having bactericidal properties (co-polymer). After adding 75 parts by weight of dimethylacetamide (equivalent to 140% by weight based on the polymer) and thoroughly stirring and mixing, the mixture was heated and dissolved by a conventional method to obtain a spinning dope A. On the other hand, a spun thick layer B was prepared from 25 parts by weight of the copolymer and 75 parts by weight of dimethylacetamide.

A ratio of stock solution B to stock solution A1 is 10, and the stock solution for the sheath part is stock solution A, and the stock solution for the core part is stock gIB, and is passed through a sheath core type conjugate nozzle into a coagulation bath consisting of dimethylacetamide and water, and wet-length spun. Thereafter, the fibers were subjected to stretching, washing, drying, and relaxation treatments in the usual manner to obtain acrylic fibers in which zeolite, which retains copper ions and silver ions, was distributed in the surface layer. The total content of copper ions and silver ions in this fiber was α04.

Example 2 Acrylic fibers were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the metal ions having bactericidal properties were a combination of 50% by weight of silver and 50% by weight of zinc.

Example 3 Acrylic fibers were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that Y-type zeolite containing 10% by weight of silver alone as a bactericidal metal ion was used.

Example 4 Acrylic fibers were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that type A zeolite containing 10% by weight of silver alone as a bactericidal metal ion was used.

Example 5 Acrylic fibers were obtained by spinning only the stock solution A of Example 1. The total content of copper ions and silver ions in this fiber was C14% by weight.

Comparative Example 1 Acrylic fibers were obtained under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that no bactericidal metal ion-retaining zeolite was added.

Table 1 shows the antibacterial performance of each fiber, and Table 2 shows the fiber physical properties.

Table 2 (Effects of the Invention) The antibacterial Acrylic IJ A/based fiber according to the present invention exhibits superior antibacterial effects compared to ordinary acrylic fibers that do not contain zeolite retaining bactericidal metal ions, especially in the fiber surface layer. A product containing zeolite that retains bactericidal metal ions intensively exhibits an excellent antibacterial effect with a smaller content of zeolite that retains bactericidal metal ions.

In addition, in terms of fiber performance, which can be a problem in use, all of them maintain a level comparable to that of ordinary acrylic fibers.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An antibacterial acrylic fiber characterized by containing zeolite particles that retain metal ions having a bactericidal effect in at least the surface layer of the fiber.