Application of chitosan in the form of textile: production and sourcing

Abstract

Chitosan material has multiple functions that attract attention from the textile industry, while textile structures make the biocompatible, osteo-conductive and resorbable material promising in a wide range of applications. When the material becomes fibers, the resulting length, strength, fineness and softness would grant the material functions such as structure capacity and a layering system. However, the expected win-win situation is not seen in reality. Special properties of the chitosan material may burden its way of application. In addition, market recognition of chitosan, differences between chitosan, chitin and seaweed fibers, differences in antibacterial post-treatment, testing standards of chitosan, antimicrobial and antibacterial treatment in downstream production and fuzzy concepts of users are also concerns and challenges related to chitosan. Gaps and misunderstandings between the supplier, manufacturer, consumer and researchers are clarified. Testing standards are compared by their purpose, mechanism and scope, while in this article, more attention is given to the application side. Existing forms of semi or final textile chitosan products, fabrication process and evaluation methods are reviewed and discussed for their feasibility towards application. In the end, a product development process flow is given marking concerns in each step of production to guide production and sourcing.