Evaluation of AATCC 147 Textile Materials: Parallel Line Method

The AATCC 147 standard has been developed by the American Textile Chemists and Colorists Association (AATCC) to explain a qualitative test method applied to determine antimicrobial effectiveness in textile products. The full name of this standard is as follows: AATCC 147 Evaluation of textile materials: parallel line method.

The test method presented in this standard is commonly known as the parallel line method. This test method is designed to qualitatively assess the antibacterial activity of antimicrobial agents that can spread on processable textile materials. That is, with this test method, the ability of the processed textile product to prevent the growth of microorganisms and to be bacteriostatic is determined. This method gives the opportunity to roughly estimate the effectiveness against different microorganism concentrations.

The microorganisms required for the tests are generally grown in a liquid culture medium. Two representative microorganisms are commonly used: staphylococcus aureus and klebsiella pneumoniae. Before starting the test, sterilized and molten microorganisms are poured into sterile petri dishes and allowed to solidify completely before inoculation. The suspension of the test microorganism is then standardized by dilution in sterile distilled water.

The application of the AATCC 147 test method is relatively fast. It offers a fast and easy alternative to the more complex AATCC 100 test method. This test method is useful for testing against both gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. It is very repeatable because it is plain. This method provides estimates of efficacy against different microorganism concentrations, thus providing a higher degree of sensitivity.

In contrast, the AATCC 147 test method is not quantitative and only provides qualitative data. Also, it does not contain successful or unsuccessful criteria for antimicrobial activity levels observed in test samples.

Within the framework of laboratory test services, AATCC 147 evaluates textile materials: parallel line method testing services are also provided by our organization.