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The outbreak of COVID-19 has already generated a huge societal, economic and political losses worldwide. The present study aims to investigate the antiviral activity of Poly(hexamethylene biguanide) hydrochloride (PHMB) treated fabric against COVID-19 by using the surrogate Feline coronavirus. The antiviral analysis indicated that up to 94% of coronavirus was killed after contacting the CVC fabric treated with PHMB for 2 h, which suggests that PHMB treated fabric could be used for developing protective clothing and beddings with antiviral activity against coronavirus and can play a role in fighting the transmission of COVID-19 in the high-risk places.

Textile industry is one of the most significant contributor to world economy and a major consumer of dyes. The nature provides rich and diverse source of dyes all the while being environmentally safe, Nowadays, with the increasing awareness about health, wellness as well as environment among the general populace, there has been a renewed interest in natural sources of pigments for dyes. This is because naturally produced colors are not toxic nor carcinogenic to humans and are more environment friendly as they are easily biodegradable. The green movement that started in 1960s initiated the shift in preference of naturally sourced colors over synthetic colors and this prevalence has been increasing steadily. One of the major driving factors is the public discomfort in the usage of synthetic colors. Another factor is the leniency and flexibility provided by governments in the use of natural colors. Plenty of literature can be found on various studies on microbial pigments, mostly focusing on production of specific pigments and their applications. As the interest towards natural and eco-friendly products among consumers is on the rise, microbes can be used to color textiles. The present paper deals with the effect of temperature on the dyeing of cotton fabric with microbe i.e Monascus purpureus dye.