Development of tri laminate antiviral surgical gown for liquid barrier protecion

Abstract

A foremost problem for healthcare workers is the transmission of pathogens and bacteria from their patients to themselves and the reverse contamination. Bacteria contaminated fabric in hospitals are known to be a major source of infection as any blood contamination could pose a risk of transmission of bacteria and virus. In recent times the market demand of healthcare textiles has increased incredibly and the scope of surgical gowns is enormous due to hygiene consciousness. As infectious diseases like Hepatitis, SARS have reached an alarming limit, the method of protection from these dreadful diseases need to be improved. Without usage of sufficient barriers, harmful bacteria can reach and penetrate the skin of surgeons with an associated potential for infection. In addition, when pathogens contaminate gowns they can be transmitted to other persons beyond the initial wearer. Healthcare personnel use a protective garment called surgical gown to safeguard against virus. With growing concerns about the emergence of hazards associated with the transmission of blood-borne pathogens, the purpose of surgical gown suddenly has changed from protecting the patient from the surgeon to protecting the surgeon and paramedical staff from the patient as well. Therefore, the surgical gown should protect the blood borne infectious virusi from penetrating through the fabric and hence the current research work gains importance as the fabric should be liquid barrier. This research work is an attempt towards developing tri-laminate antiviral surgical gown using the polypropylene, polyester and viscose nonwoven fabrics. Tri-laminate antiviral surgical gowns were developed from different nonwoven fabrics combinations using Polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) membrane as the middle layer and studied their performance and characteristics for barrier against viruses as per the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Spunbond polypropylene, polyester and viscose nonwoven fabrics with basis weight of 25 grams per square were sourced. The nonwoven fabrics pore size was characterized to analyze their suitability. Titanium dioxide nano particles were synthesized using Titanium tetra chloride as a precursor. Synthesis were carried out at various temperature and 170º C optimized. High resolution transmission electron microscope was used for carrying out characterization of nano particles. The nano particles obtained at 170º C yielded an average diameter of 9 nm. For the application of titanium nano dispersion finishes, the most widely used method of application of the pad-dry-cure process was used. Nano finished fabrics were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope.