Use of Aronia melanocarpa Fruit Dye Combined with Silver Nanoparticles to Dye Fabrics and Leather and Assessment of Its Antibacterial Potential Against Skin Bacteria

The core purpose of this study was to extract natural dye from Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) powder (BCP) via soxhlet extraction or ultrasound water bath using acidified ethanol (A. EtOH) as the extraction solvent. After optimization of the dye extraction conditions, high color intensity was achieved at pH 4, temperature of 80 °C, 40 and 90 ml of A. EtOH, 2 g of BCP, time of 80 and 90 min, ultrasonic output power of 75 W or 6 extraction cycles for ultrasonic water bath and soxhlet extraction, respectively. The extracted red natural dye (BCP) was used alone or together with commercial silver nanoparticles (C-AgNPs) to dye cotton, silk, and leather in an eco-friendly approach without using any external chemicals with augmented antibacterial activity. Rotary vacuum dyeing yielded excellent dyeing and the optimal conditions for high color strength (K/S) values were pH 4, 120 min at 80 °C for cotton and silk and 90 min at 60 °C for leather. Morphologies of dyed cotton, silk, and leather and the anchoring of C-AgNPs with elemental compositions were investigated by scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The dry and wet rubbing fastness values for dye alone and dye with nanoparticles were grade 4–5 and 4, respectively.