JPH0474453B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to fibers having an antibacterial function that can be widely used in clothing, towels, sporting goods, air conditioner filters, daily miscellaneous brushes, toothbrushes, and the like. (Prior Art) Attempts have been made to impart antibacterial, anti-mold, and deodorizing functions (herein simply referred to as antibacterial functions) to fibers. There are already known products that incorporate this. As this type of organic antibacterial agent, diphenyl ether, chlorhexidine, thiobendazole, imidazole, etc. are generally used. However, fibers kneaded with organic antibacterial agents tend to lack toxicity, stability, and long-lasting effects, and the temperature during kneading reaches around 200°C, which may cause decomposition, evaporation, etc. , difficulty in controlling the elution rate of organic antibacterial agents;
There are drawbacks such as the emergence of resistant bacteria. In addition, as an inorganic antibacterial agent, JP-A-59-133235
Zeolite with ion-exchanged copper ions and silver ions is known, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-195038, but fibers incorporating these zeolite particles have a low antibacterial function and a low elution rate. It has disadvantages such as difficulty in controlling the zeolite particles and poor processability and storage properties due to the high hygroscopicity of the zeolite particles themselves. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention solves the conventional problems as described above, can stably exhibit excellent antibacterial function over a long period of time, and has excellent processability and storage stability. This has been completed to provide fibers with good antibacterial properties. (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention, which was made to solve the above problems, incorporates 30% by weight or less of soluble glass powder containing silver ions and having a particle size of 50 μm or less into a resin fiber material. It is characterized by having an initial elution rate of silver ions of 10 ng/cm ² /day or more. The meltable glass used in the present invention is
It is a general term for glasses whose composition has been adjusted in consideration of the physical and chemical properties of the glass so as to have a controlled dissolution rate. Silver ions can be eluted at a defined rate over a period of time. The eluted silver ions then adsorb to the cell walls of bacteria and microorganisms or condense within their cell membranes, inhibiting the growth of bacteria and microorganisms through a so-called oligodynamic action, and exhibiting an antibacterial function. In the present invention, such soluble glass is kneaded into a resin fiber material as a powder with a particle size of 50 μm or less. The kneading is carried out at the stage of creating a masterbatch, as shown in the Examples below, and then spinning is carried out by a conventional method. Here, the particle size of the soluble glass is set to 50 μm or less because if the particle size exceeds this, it will be kneaded and damage cylinders etc. in the spinning process, as well as lowering the tensile strength of the fibers. The reason why the amount of soluble glass added is 30% by weight or less of the resin fiber material is because soluble glass containing silver ions has a strong antibacterial function, so there is no need to add any more.
This is because if too much soluble glass powder is mixed in, the properties of the fibers may be impaired. Such fibers of the present invention have an initial elution rate of silver ions of 10 ng/
It shall be kept at least cm ² /day. In addition, the initial elution rate of silver ions from the second day onwards was set at 1 ng/cm ² /day.
It is preferable to control it within a range of 5000 ng/cm ² /day. If the initial elution rate of silver ions is less than this range, sufficient antibacterial function will not be exhibited during long-term use, and conversely, if the elution rate of silver ions exceeds this range, the lifespan in which antibacterial functions can be exerted will be shortened, and the fibers will deteriorate. This results in a decrease in tensile strength. In addition, the above elution rate range of silver ions is 0.001 mg/g/Hr to 50 mg/g/Hr when converted to soluble glass powder alone.
(Amount of silver ions eluted at 20°C from particles with a particle size of 50 μm or less). The fibers of the present invention can be used for clothing, towels, sporting goods,
It can be widely used in air conditioner filters, daily miscellaneous brushes, toothbrushes, etc. In any case, when it comes into contact with moisture, silver ions are gradually eluted from the soluble glass powder kneaded inside the fibers, making it an excellent product. It exhibits antibacterial function. Therefore, textile products using the fibers of the present invention are not only hygienic due to their antibacterial, anti-mold, and deodorizing effects, but are also well-suited to modern customs that emphasize cleanliness. The present invention will be explained in more detail below using examples. (Example) Example 1 A Fiber Creation First, 50 mol% of B ₂ O ₃ , 40 mol% of SiO ₂ ,
A silver ion-containing boric acid-based soluble glass having a composition of 10% by mole of Na ₂ O and 0.5% by weight of Ag ₂ O was prepared and ground to a particle size of 25 μm or less. Apart from this, P ₂ O ₅ 50 mol%, Na ₂ O 25
A silver ion-containing phosphoric acid-based soluble glass having a composition of mol %, CaO 25 mol %, and Ag ₂ O 0.5 weight % was prepared and similarly ground to a particle size of 25 μm or less. Next, 7% by weight of each soluble glass was mixed and heated with 93% by weight of polypropylene, and the mixture was injected to create two types of masterbatches. In addition, a master batch containing the same amount of silver-containing zeolite particles was also prepared for comparison. Mix 95% by weight of each of these three types of masterbatch with 5% by weight of water-absorbing elastomer,
Fibers with a diameter of 0.7 mm were produced using an extruder. Thereafter, the fibers were passed through a drawing heating bath to form fibers with a diameter of 0.2 mm. B Elution rate of silver ions from fibers The three types of fibers obtained as described above were
Each sample was taken in 50ml of pure water at 20°C, and the amount of silver ions eluted after 24 hours was measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer. Table 1 shows the data for 3 days of the 10-day investigation, in which the purified water was replaced every day. C. Antibacterial effect Next, 5 m of each of these three types of fibers and a fiber that did not contain antibacterial agents as a comparative example were taken, and 2 g/g of glucose was added to a phosphate-based inorganic salt buffer culture solution.
into 10 ml of added culture medium. An E. coli suspension was added to this and kept at 37° C. for 24 hours, and the turbidity of the solution due to E. coli growth was measured by absorbance at a wavelength of 550 nm. The results are shown in Table 2. As shown in Table 2, the fibers of the present invention exhibit excellent antibacterial effects.

[Table] As shown above, in the fibers of the present invention, the silver ion elution rate (initial elution rate) on the first day was 10n.
g/cm ² /day or more. In contrast, the initial dissolution rate of conventional zeolite-filled fibers is much lower.

[Table] Example 2 A Fiber Creation B Silver ion-containing boric acid glass with a composition of 80 mol% of ₂ O ₃ , 10 mol% of SiO _2, 10 mol% of Na ₂ O, 0.7% by weight of Ag ₂ O, and 5% by weight of ZnO. , _{P2O5 65} mol%,
A silver ion-containing phosphoric acid glass with a composition of 35 mol% Na ₂ O and 0.3% Ag ₂ O by weight was prepared, and the particle size was 15μ.
It was crushed to less than m. Next, 98% by weight of low-density polyethylene was mixed with 5% by weight of each of the above two types of soluble glass powder, heated, and injected to create two types of masterbatches. Similarly, masterbatches containing the same amount of silver-containing zeolite particles were also prepared. Fibers similar to those in Example 1 were prepared from these three types of masterbatches, and the fibers were further knitted into cloth. B Elution rate of silver ions from cloth Take 100cm ² of the cloth made as above,
It was immersed in 100 ml of pure water at 20°C, and the amount of silver ions eluted one day later was measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The pure water was replaced every day and the results of the investigation for 5 days are shown in Table 3. The unit in Table 3 is ng/cm ² /day, and cm ² means the area of the cloth. C. Anti-mildew effect Cut these cloths into 3cm x 3cm pieces.
A spore suspension of blue mold was applied to a normal bouillon agar medium, and the mixture was placed on top and cultured at 25°C for 4 weeks. The results of measuring the length of the mold growth inhibition zone are then
Shown in the table. As is clear from Table 4, no blue mold was observed around the fabric made of the fibers of the present invention.

【table】

[Table] (Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the present invention involves kneading a predetermined amount of soluble glass powder containing silver ions into a resin fiber material to obtain a concentration of silver ions of 10 ng/cm ² /day or more. The fiber has an excellent antibacterial function due to its initial elution rate, and compared to conventional antibacterial fibers, its antibacterial function can be demonstrated for a much longer period of time, making it stable over a long period of time. The effect can be maintained. In addition, in the present invention, meltable glass powder is kneaded into the fibers, so
Compared to the case where it is attached to the outer surface, there is no fear of it falling off, and better stability can be obtained. Therefore, the present invention greatly contributes to the development of industry as a fiber having an antibacterial function that eliminates the conventional problems.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A soluble glass powder containing silver ions with a particle size of 50 μm or less is kneaded into a resin fiber material at a ratio of 30% by weight or less, and has an initial dissolution rate of silver ions of 10 ng/cm ² /day or more. A fiber with antibacterial function characterized by its thin structure.