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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #430724
Research Project: Increased Sustainability and Utilization of Cotton and Other Natural Fiber-Based Textiles and Commercial Goods

Location: Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research

Title: Structure-Driven Nanocomposites from Immature Cotton Fibers Targeting ESKAPE Pathogens

Author
item Nam, Sunghyun
item KASHEM, MD NAYEEM HASAN - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
item He, Zhongqi
item ABIDI, NOUREDDINE - Texas Tech University

Submitted to: Agricultural & Environmental Letters
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2026
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Cotton fibers that do not fully mature are often considered low quality and have little commercial value. This study shows that these immature fibers can be transformed into valuable antibacterial materials. Because of their structural imperfections, the fibers contain abundant natural chemical components that can convert silver ions into silver nanoparticles without the need for added chemical reagents. These nanoparticles form uniformly throughout the cotton’s internal structure. A 10% blend of the Ag-cotton nanocomposites with regular cotton fibers was highly effective at killing harmful bacteria known as ESKAPE pathogens, which are resistant to many antibiotics and commonly cause hospital infections. These findings suggest promising applications in medical and hygiene products such as wound dressings, antibacterial wipes, and filtration materials.

Technical Abstract: Transforming underutilized immature cotton into functional materials offers a sustainable strategy to reduce economic losses associated with low-quality fibers. In this study, the intrinsic structure features of immature cotton fibers—typically considered as defects in textile applications—were leveraged for the in situ synthesis of silver (Ag) nanoparticles. The structure-driven reducing and stabilizing capacities of the fibers facilitated nanoparticle formation without the need for external chemical reagents. TEM and XRD analyses confirmed the presence of crystalline Ag nanoparticles (8.1 ± 2.7 nm; 2.2 ± 0.6 wt%) embedded within the fiber matrix, while preserving the native cellulose I' crystalline structure. The resulting Ag-cotton nanocomposites exhibited antibacterial activity, with a 10% fiber blend achieving >4 log reductions against ESKAPE pathogens, demonstrating strong and broad-spectrum activity.