Abstract
Zr(IV) complex was used to bind antibiotics to cellulose fabric for imparting a high degree of antimicrobial property. Fabrics were successively treated with ammonium zirconyl carbonate solution and chlorampenicol or tetracycline hydrochloride solution by two-bath batch procedure. The reactivity of chlorampenciol with fabric containing zirconium complex was higher than that of tetracycline hydrochloride. Fabrics treated with chlorampenicol or tetracycline hydrochloride solution had a little zone of inhibition against the gram-negative bacterial, Klebsiella pneumoniae, after twenty launderings. These results show that the antimicrobial activity of the fabrics is due to controlled-release mechanism and fast to laundering.