Recent Developments in Finishing of Synthetic Fibers for Medical Applications

Abstract

Demand for antimicrobial fabrics has grown significantly in recent years because of public awareness of the potential threat of spreading diseases and there will be an increasing role for medical textiles in the future world market. The number of applications of polymeric materials for medical purposes is growing very fast. Polymers have found applications in such diverse biomedical fields as tissue engineering, implantation of medical devices and artificial organs, prostheses, ophthalmology, dentistry, bone repair and many other medical fields. Polymer-based delivery systems enable controlled release of drugs into the body. The aim of the present review is to clarify the antimicrobial agents and their mechanism of action, test methods, and the recent developments in antimicrobial functional finishing of synthetic fibers for medical applications (commercially available bioactive fibers).

Antimicrobial regenerated cellulose/nano-silver fiber without leaching

“…Main methods employed to overcome this pitfall include grafting a biocidal group onto fiber polymer branches, 4–6 cross-linking an enzyme group onto fiber polymer branches, 7,8 and adding an antimicrobial agent into spinning dopes as a filler. 9…”

“…Main methods employed to overcome this pitfall include grafting a biocidal group onto fiber polymer branches, [4][5][6] cross-linking an enzyme group onto fiber polymer branches, 7,8 and adding an antimicrobial agent into spinning dopes as a filler. 9 Many commercially available products of antimicrobial fiber are based on synthetic fibers. For instance, Trevira Bioactive ® , an antimicrobial polyester fiber produced by the German fiber company Trevira, integrated an additive providing silver ions to destroy contacted bacteria.…”

Crucial finishing and transfer printing of polyester blended fabrics

“…Nevertheless, the durability was good for polyester-containing fabrics because the interactions possibly occurred between the antimicrobial agent and hydrophobic polyester polymer surfaces. 19,21 Figure 11 shows the relationship between a number of washing cycles on E. coli for different fabric types. It was found that activity against E. coli value decreased with an increase in a number of washing cycles.…”

Thermal and antimicrobial evaluation of cotton functionalized with a chitosan–zeolite composite and microcapsules of phase‐change materials

“…In this sense, increased importance has been given to strategies for silver encapsulation, which allow the optimization of their release levels to ensure antimicrobial activity and reduce the possibility of adverse effects. For this purpose, inert ceramic matrices and zeolites have been used to immobilize silver ions and thermoplastic polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyamide, which retain silver salts or the metal itself …”