Bioactive textile coatings for improved viral protection: A study of polypropylene masks coated with copper salt and organic antimicrobial agents

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of face masks in reducing virus transmission. However, mask contamination through interpersonal contact or handling demonstrates the need for the development of bioactive textile coatings to reduce mask changes and increase user protection. This study reports the development of polypropylene masks coated with organic antimicrobial agents such as polyethyleneimine (PEI) and lauric acid (Lau), in addition to Cu2+ salts, and their virucidal performance against coronaviruses (MHV-3 strain). Plasma treatment crucially improved the fabric impregnation by the coatings. PEI and Lau coatings significantly reduced viral titer from 99% to 99.99% after 2 h of contact. The PEI coating with copper salt exhibited rapid effect, with a virus inhibition of 99.9% to 99.99% in under a minute, indicating that CuSO4 can significantly enhance the virucidal effect of the coating. Although these coatings demonstrated comparable performance to other virucidal coatings, the presence of copper ions potentializes their effect, rapidly inactivating the virus. These findings highlight the potential of pure organic antimicrobial coatings to enhance mask efficacy and improve protective capabilities. The hybrid coating proves suitable for rapid inactivation of the virus, due to copper fast release and PEI prolonged inhibition effect, enhancing the protection against viral infections.