Preparation of mud-coated silk fabrics with antioxidant and antibacterial properties

Two-tone silk fabric with antioxidant and antibacterial properties was prepared by a traditional technique. Original silk fabric was firstly insolated after being soaked in Chinese herbal extract rich in condensed tannins and then coated with ferrous-rich mud. The treated fabrics were characterized using FTIR. The FTIR spectra suggested the mud-coated side of fabric was hydrophobic attributed to the disappearance of hydrophilic groups while the other side was hydrophilic with typical peaks of silk. This result was confirmed by the increased contact angle. The mud-coated fabric also had stronger antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli than original fabric. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of mud-coated fabric was enhanced twofold. It was expected that such silk fabrics had extensive application as bioactive materials.