What are the standards for Antibacterial yarn?
Antibacterial yarn standard classification and core indicators
I. Chinese national standards and industry standards
GB/T 20944 series of standards
Testing methods: covering qualitative (dish diffusion method) and quantitative (oscillation method, absorption method) tests, for example:
GB/T 20944.3-2008 stipulates the operation procedure of oscillation method, and calculates the antimicrobial performance through the colony reduction rate.
Applicability: Applicable to natural fibers, chemical fibers and their blended products.
FZ/T 73023-2006 Antibacterial Knitted Products
Classification: divided into A, AA, AAA, AAA grade, AAA grade requires that the antimicrobial performance still meets the standard after 50 times of washing.
Dissolution test: Distinguish between dissolved and non-dissolved antimicrobial agents, and assess the antimicrobial durability.
GB 15979-2002
Scope of application: Basic antimicrobial testing standards for disposable sanitary products (such as towels and medical textiles).
II. International mainstream standards
ISO 20743
Global applicability: covering all textile antimicrobial performance assessment, the requirement of bacterial inhibition rate ≥ 70%.
AATCC 100 (American Standard)
Characteristics: Focus on quantitative testing, calculate antimicrobial rate by colony counting method, emphasize on experimental repeatability.
JIS L 1902 (Japanese Standard)
Method compatibility: similar to ISO 20743, including qualitative (halo method) and quantitative (fluorescence method) testing.
III. Performance indexes and judgment standards
Basic threshold: Staphylococcus aureus ≥80%, Escherichia coli ≥70%, Candida albicans ≥70%.
High-grade standards: some enterprise standards (such as grade 7A) require higher bacterial inhibition rate, such as Gardnerella ≥ 80%.
Qualified standard: logarithmic value ≥ 2.2 (equivalent to antibacterial rate ≥ 99%) is qualified.
IV. Classification of Testing Methods
Plate diffusion method: Preliminary judgment of antimicrobial effect through the size of the inhibition circle.
Oscillation method: applicable to non-dissolving antibacterial yarn, calculate the rate of colony reduction after contact by oscillation.
Fluorescence method (ATP detection): rapid detection technology, assessing antimicrobial performance through enzyme reaction fluorescence intensity.
V. Other key requirements
AAA grade antimicrobial yarn is required to pass 50 times standard washing test with antimicrobial decay rate ≤10%.
It needs to comply with REACH and other regulations on the restriction of chemical additives to avoid skin irritation or environmental pollution.
Through the above standard system, the performance of antimicrobial yarn can be comprehensively evaluated from the dimensions of testing methods, grading, antibacterial rate and washing resistance to ensure that it meets the functional requirements in the fields of medical care, home textile, sports and so on.
