These detrimental effects can be avoided or controlled through
the efficient use of antimicrobial finishing of textiles with specific
agent. The most frequently studied and
described agents for finishing of cellulosic textiles are chatoyant
and silver nanoparticles. The literature also shows the antimicrobial functions of cellulose based-textiles treated with
quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). A number of recent studies have also demonstrated the
potential of ionic liquids (ILs), which are QACs, to exhibit excellent
antimicrobial activity .
These compounds were successfully used to protect cellulose
materials such as wood and paper against biodeterioration. Apart from antimicrobial
properties, wood treated with ILs showed some useful properties,
such as higher electrical conductivity, improved wettability, and
low surface roughness, in comparison with untreated wood
(Croitoru et al., 2011).