Low density - highly porous tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) - based silica aerogels and cryogels were prepared in acidic water via a one-step process. The approximate values of the average pore diameter are 13 and 9 nm, and BET surface areas are 881 and 723 m 2 /g for aerogel and cryogel films, respectively. The silica films shrinkage related to drying was largely reduced because the sol-gel was adsorbed on gauze and non woven textiles. Supercritically dried films are compared with cryogels, also through optical properties, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Attenuated Total Reflection -Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Based on ISO 22196:2007, the antibacterial activity of the untreated and antibacterials-treated cryogel silica films adsorbed on gauze textile were evaluated. Both films showed strong antibacterial properties against the food pathogens Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes.