2001 年 6 巻 1 号 p. 1-8
A practical method to evaluate the deodorant efficacy was proposed in order to study the relationship between the antimicrobial activity and the deodorant efficacy of metal-treated cotton socks. The cell counts of bacteria and fungi on treated-socks were respectively decreased to 1/100 - 1/1000 and 1/10 - 1/100 of the initial cell counts. Actual wear tests indicated that metal-treatment was effective in inhibiting the growth of microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity of metal-treated socks was 1.0 - 1.9 times greater than that of commercial antimicrobial-deodorant socks after being worn. Correlation between bacterial cell counts and the odor intensity which was measured by a semiconductor odor sensor was found to be (p < 0.01). The correlation coefficients of metal-treated socks and untreated socks were 0.826 and 0.814, respectively. In contrast, little correlation for metal-treated socks and untreated socks with regard to fungi was observed. These findings suggest that bacteria contribute to the occurrence of the malodorous components and the odor sensor measurement method could play an important role in evaluating the deodorant efficacy of antimicrobial-deodorant finished textile fabrics.
