Study of modified polypropylene nonwoven cloth. II. Antibacterial activityof modified polypropylene nonwoven cloths

Removal of E. coli from water by modified polypropylene (PP) nonwoven cloth s which were prepared through radiation-induced grafting of 4-vinyl pyridin e (4-VP) onto PP nonwoven cloths and followed by quaterization was carried out by filtration. The results showed that the content and structure of the pyridinium group on PP nonwoven cloths were important factors to affect th eir antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity increased with the n umber of piled sheets of the used nonwoven cloths and decreased with increa se of the viable bacterial cell concentrations in the influent and with fil tration rates. The activity detection results found that modified PP nonwov en cloths possessed the ability to capture the bacterial cell alive, and no morphological changes of adhered bacterial cells were observed using SEM; thus, the surfaces of the modified PP nonwoven cloths may not be bactericid al, but bacteriostatic. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 7 7: 1869-1876, 2000.