A STUDY ON THE ANTI-BACTERIAL PROPERTY OF ESSENTIAL OILS AND METAL OXIDES IN DENIM GARMENTS

This research aims to analyse the anti-bacterial properties of essential oils (rose oil and citrus oil) and metal oxides (titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) in denim garments. The fabric selected for the research was 2/1 Right Hand Twill cotton denim fabric. The selected fabric was made into prototype garments and subjected to pre treatments. Subsequently the garments were treated with agents like essential oils (rose oil and citrus oil) and metal oxides (titanium di oxide and Zinc oxide) by two different methods ? direct exhaustion and micro encapsulation methods. The garments were tested for the efficacy of anti-bacterial property qualitatively by agar diffusion method. The results have proven very good inhibition against the bacteria in conjunction with a sweet fragrance in case of essential oils.