Assessment of the antifungal activity of lining leather treated with silver doped hydroxyapatite

Abstract

In this study, silver doped hydroxyapatite (Ag-HA) prepared by the microwave method was applied to leather in the finishing composition and its antifungal effect was investigated. The surface morphology of treated leathers was observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The Ag content in leather samples was identified with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The antifungal activities of the control leather and the 0%-5% Ag doped hydroxyapatite treated leather samples on the test fungi Aspergillus Niger TEM and Trichoderma viride TEM were evaluated according to ASTM D 4576-08:2008 Standard Test Method for Mold Growth Resistance of Wet-Blue Leather. According to the results of the study, the antifungal performances of the treated leather were increased by increasing the concentration of Ag in hydroxyapatite. Moreover, the leather treated with Ag doped hydroxyapatite containing 2% or more of silver showed strong antifungal activity and it was decided that Ag doped hydroxyapatite could be used as an antifungal agent on leathers.