Triclosan-Incorporated Natural Rubber Latex Foam: A New Approach to Antibacterial Performance

Natural rubber (NR) latex foam has been used in various products such as pillows, mattresses, and carpet underlays, to name a few. Its cellular structure may lead to the easy growth of micro-organisms. This may bring harmful bacteria to the users. Therefore, this work aimed to develop antibacterial NR latex foam and offered the basic formulation for preparing it. An antibacterial NR latex foam was prepared in the presence of Triclosan. The use of Triclosan affects antibacterial activities, where the clear zones of S. aureus and E. coli increased with the Triclosan content. A shorter contact time was achieved to kill the bacteria. The use of Triclosan at only 2 phr is sufficient to gain 100% killing efficiency in 8 h of contact time. This study offered resourceful information in fabricating an antibacterial NR latex foam incorporating Triclosan