Antibacterial fiber containing copper is a kind of functional fiber, which can block the spread of disease, eliminate peculiar smell, repair skin and so on. It is a new type of antibacterial textile, which is popular in Europe and the United States at present.

Silver-containing antimicrobial fibers have been widely used in the past decade, but in 2014, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) publicly restricted the use of nano-silver in textiles.

This is because it is slowly becoming clear that silver is not as safe as thought.

On the one hand, silver ions or nano-silver will enter the human body through the skin, and the compound of silver is basically insoluble except for silver nitrate, so it will cause the accumulation of heavy metals in the body, which will damage the health in the long term. Instead, copper compounds have been found to be soluble, and copper that enters the body is metabolized out of the body.

Copper, on the other hand, is the third most abundant trace element in the human body after iron and zinc, and the human body doesn't need silver.

In addition, copper and iron are important raw materials for hematopoiesis. Copper plays an important role in the metabolism of human skin, cartilage and other connective tissues. It can catalyze the synthesis of hemoglobin and participate in the hematopoiesis process.

Therefore, copper-containing textiles can enhance the activity of skin growth factor, stimulate the formation of new capillaries in the skin, and use of copper-containing medical dressings on wounds can speed up the healing of wounds.

So the use of copper instead of silver as antibacterial function of textiles, has become a consensus and popular trend in today's industry.

Copper fiber belongs to the category of inorganic antimicrobial fiber, inorganic antimicrobial fiber is the metal and its compounds (including silver, copper, zinc, etc.) as antimicrobial agent through different processing methods into the fiber, so that it becomes antibacterial function.

According to the processing methods of inorganic antimicrobial fiber, there are mainly three kinds: blending spinning, finishing and grafting modification.

Antibacterial mechanism of nanometer copper antibacterial fiber

Trace copper ions total bacterial cell membrane, nucleic acid, enzymes, damage cell proteins resulting in bacterial death or loss of ability to divide and proliferate.

Deodorization mechanism of nanometer copper antibacterial fiber

At present, the "deodorant function" used in the field of textiles is mainly aimed at two situations, one is the putrefaction odor produced by the metabolism of bacteria or fungi, and the other is body odor (including the odor produced by gases or liquids such as ammonia, iso-valeric acid and acetic acid).

Nano-copper antibacterial fiber has good antibacterial properties, which can inhibit the proliferation of bacteria and fungi to prevent the odor of corruption. At the same time, the high hydrophilic group of the fiber can be neutralized with ammonia, iso-valeric acid and acetic acid to eliminate the odor.

Application of nanometer copper antibacterial fiber

Nano-copper antibacterial fiber has a particularly good effect on fungi. Its excellent antibacterial effect has a certain inhibitory effect on foot fungi, dermatitis, eczema, genital itching, body odor and other fungal skin diseases. Pants affixing with crotch cloth containing copper ions can play a certain role in the conditioning of skin, gynecology and other diseases.

The next area of application could be the medical market, but the technology has yet to pass rigorous scientific tests. So far, human beings have spontaneously used copper to fight against disease for thousands of years. The development of modern copper fiber technology has greatly expanded the scope of application, including: ulcer covered gauze for diabetes patients, gauze and socks for beriberi patients, medical masks, medical bedding, surgical masks and gauze, underwear and so on.

Functional copper yarn and fabric products are prepared by mixing antimicrobial nanometer copper masterbatch with ordinary PET,PA6 or PP and other substrates according to conventional processing methods. The additive amount is about 3-5%, mixed spinning, to achieve good antibacterial effect.

In addition to the use of nano particles spinning, the use of finishing can also make the fabric with antibacterial effect, and does not affect the feel of the fabric. Nano copper antibacterial finishing agent diluted with 5% ratio in water, the fabric dipping, dehydration, drying, washable for 50 times still has antibacterial effect.

In the future, functional fabrics will become more and more popular, especially under the influence of Covid-19, and people will pay more attention to the antibacterial aspect. Nano copper fibers will open up more applications and create a wider market!