| abstract |
Antimicrobial properties are imparted to naturally occurring fibers, such as cotton fibers and fabrics, by intimately admixing the naturally occurring fibers with synthetic fibers prepared by extruding a spinnable solution of a synthetic thermoplastic resin and at least 0.1% by weight of an antimicrobial agent into a strand having a denier of 1.5-60 dpf. The synthetic fibers are characterized by the antimicrobial agent therein migrating to the fiber surface to form a coating thereon and then transferring to the naturally occurring fibers by physical contact as the amount of antimicrobial agent on the surface of the naturally occurring fibers diminishes. Additional antimicrobial agent then migrates to the surface of the synthetic fiber until equilibrium is re-established. |