Synthesis of imidazole derivatives and their immobilization to wool fabric to impart antibacterial properties

The increasing awareness of health and hygiene issues, coupled with epidemics and rising living standards, has fueled a growing interest and demand for antibacterial textiles. While various chemicals are utilized in the production of antibacterial textiles, metal salts and nano metal particles, particularly silver compounds, are also commonly employed. Silver salts, due to their ionic structure, often result in a rapid release of silver in water, leading to a short-term, high antibacterial effect. In contrast, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes offer a unique advantage by providing long-term, high antibacterial activity through the gradual release of silver ions. This is facilitated by the bond formed between wool and NH2 groups, rendering the fabric resistant to light. In this study, we conducted the synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes and successfully immobilized these compounds onto wool fabric. The outcome of this research is the production of antibacterial wool fabrics exhibiting prolonged high antibacterial activity even after 50 washing cycles, while remaining resistant to light. Notably, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes, commonly used in pharmacology, have not been explored for imparting antibacterial properties to wool fiber prior to this study. The study is original in this aspect.