Autoclavable, Breathable, and Waterproof Membranes Tailored by Ternary Nanofibers for Reusable Medical Protective Applications

Abstract

The COVID-19 created severe shortages of prevention materials and supplies, and the reuse of medical protective clothing is ongoing worldwide. However, it has remained a significant challenge to realize the reusability of the current medical protective clothing. We reported a scalable strategy to create autoclavable ternary electrospun nanofibrous membranes (TENMs) by introducing the elastomer polyurethane (PU) and low-surface-energy fluorinated polyurethane (FPU) into poly­(ether sulfone) (PES) fibers via electrospinning. The advantage of this design was that we could balance the waterproof-breathable function and the thermostable performance of the membrane by controlling the PES/PU/FPU mass ratio. The resulting TENMs showed excellent performances of a high moisture transmission rate of 8.3 kg m–2 day–1, a high hydrostatic pressure of 82.56 kPa, a high bacteria retention rate of 99.99%, a high aerosol retention rate of 99.99%, and autoclave sterilization-invariant to 10 cycles. The successful preparation of the material can lead to the reuse of medical protective clothing in the foreseeable future.

Amphiphobic, Thermostable, and Stretchable PTFE Nanofibrous Membranes with Breathable and Chemical-Resistant Performances for Protective Applications

“…The ability to prevent liquid water (such as rain, dew, and snow) can be evaluated by the hydrostatic pressure test and could be elucidated according to Laplace’s law: where P is the pressure required to pass through the nanofibrous membranes, λ is the liquid hydrostatic pressure, θ is the water contact angle, and d is the largest possible pore mouth width. In addition, moisture permeability mainly refers to the ability that transfers water vapor molecules from one side to the other side of materials. , For hydrophobic porous materials, the moisture permeability is related to the microporous diffusion mechanism which is closely related to the physical through-hole structure of the materials. , Accordingly, we future investigated the hydrostatic pressure, WVTR, and porosity of the PWBM as depicted in Figure b. The porosity of PWBM was around 80%, which assured the capacity of porous.…”

“…53,54 For hydrophobic porous materials, the moisture permeability is related to the microporous diffusion mechanism which is closely related to the physical through-hole structure of the materials. 55,56 Accordingly, we future investigated the hydrostatic pressure, WVTR, and porosity of the PWBM as depicted in Figure 4b. The porosity of PWBM was around 80%, which assured the capacity of porous.…”

Autoclavable Nanofiber Laminated Fabrics with Waterproof and Breathability for Reusable Medical Protective Textiles

“…Cai et al reported the fabricated electrospun membranes exhibited balanced waterproof and breathability, with high WVT rate of 10.8 kg m −2 d −1 and high hydrostatic pressure of 113 kPa. 29 Sumin et al suggested hotmelt laminating technique was suitable for manufacturing nanofiber laminated composite fabrics as it could maintain the nanofiber morphology as well as the excellent waterproof and breathability. 30 Electrospun polyurethane (PU) membranes have been proved to be an appropriate material for application in protective clothing owing to their advantageous properties including excellent tensile strength, high elasticity, and abrasion resistance.…”

Biomimetic Fibrous Leaf-Vein Membrane Enabling Unidirectional Water Penetration and Effective Antibacterial PM Filtration

“…In addition, the moisture generated during human breathing would also largely clog the pores of the fibrous membrane, especially in a hot environment or after strenuous exercise, thus causing considerable breathing resistance and unpleasant wearing experience for individuals . To address this issue, the method of constructing gradient-wetting fibrous membranes was then proposed to achieve directional moisture transport to alleviate the discomfort caused by the accumulation of exhaled moisture. ,, These fibrous membranes were generally constructed by two principles: (1) constructing a Janus face by the combination of multilayer membranes with asymmetric wettability and (2) constructing the gradient wettability in the direction of membrane thickness. , So far, most of the existing fibrous membranes could have achieved only one or two of the aforementioned properties. − For instance, although ternary electrospun nanofibrous membranes intercepted 99.99% of bacteria with good air permeability, they still failed in achieving timely inactivation of bacteria . The challenge, therefore, is to construct an advanced air filter that not only has high PM capture efficiency and low breathing resistance but also separates and inactivates external pathogenic PM, while still maintaining high internal moisture transferring performance.…”

“…34−36 For instance, although ternary electrospun nanofibrous membranes intercepted 99.99% of bacteria with good air permeability, they still failed in achieving timely inactivation of bacteria. 37 The challenge, therefore, is to construct an advanced air filter that not only has high PM capture efficiency and low breathing resistance but also separates and inactivates external pathogenic PM, while still maintaining high internal moisture transferring performance. Herein, we created a biomimetic fibrous leaf-vein membrane by one-step electrospinning of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based multilayer nanofibers with gradient interconnected porous structures that presented gradient higher hydrophobicity in the order of a feeding-outlet face.…”