High-speed production of antibacterial fabrics using liquid flame spray

Kofi Jocelyn Brobbey,Jarkko J Saarinen,Mikko Tuominen,Janne Haapanen,Martti Toivakka,Erkki Eerola,Marianne Gunell,Jyrki Mäkelä

doi:10.1177/0040517519866952

Abstract

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are known as one of the major problems of the modern healthcare system, which result in additional cost and mortality. It has also been shown that pathogenic bacteria are mostly transferred via surfaces in healthcare settings. Therefore, antibacterial surfaces, which include fabrics and textiles, can be used in a healthcare environment to reduce the transfer of pathogenic bacteria, hence reducing HAIs. Silver nanoparticles have been shown to have broad spectrum antibacterial properties, and therefore they have been incorporated into fabrics to provide antibacterial functionality. Liquid flame spray (LFS) nanoparticle synthesis allows nanoparticles to be produced and deposited on surfaces at speeds up to and beyond 300 m/min. Herein, LFS is used to deposit silver nanoparticles onto two fabrics that are commonly used in the hospital environment with the aim of producing antibacterial fabrics. A thin plasma coating on top of the fabrics after silver deposition is used to improve nanoparticle adhesion. Fabrics coated with silver nanoparticles demonstrated antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli. Nanoparticle imaging and surface chemical characterization are performed using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The highlights of this research are as follows: • high-speed synthesis and deposition of silver nanoparticles on fabrics; • plasma coating onto fabrics with silver nanoparticles; • antibacterial fabrics for potential use in healthcare environments.

Highlights

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are known as one of the major problems of the modern healthcare system, which result in additional cost and mortality
Our previous work has demonstrated the antibacterial efficacy of Liquid flame spray (LFS) synthesized silver nanoparticles on paper and glass, and that the nanoparticle adhesion can be improved on glass surfaces with a plasma coating.[9,10,38]
Both fabrics are commonly used in hospital environments, that is, fabric I is used as bedding covers (FOV Fabrics AB, SE), while fabric II is used by medical professionals as gowns in the operating room (One Med, ref 2311)

Summary

Introduction

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are known as one of the major problems of the modern healthcare system, which result in additional cost and mortality. Antibacterial surfaces, which include fabrics and textiles, can be used in a healthcare environment to reduce the transfer of pathogenic bacteria, reducing HAIs. Silver nanoparticles have been shown to have broad spectrum antibacterial properties, and they have been incorporated into fabrics to provide antibacterial functionality. The highlights of this research are as follows: high-speed synthesis and deposition of silver nanoparticles on fabrics; plasma coating onto fabrics with silver nanoparticles; antibacterial fabrics for potential use in healthcare environments. A precursor for the desired nanoparticles to be formed is injected into a high-temperature flame and the produced nanoparticles are deposited onto a substrate This has been used to produce silver nanoparticles onto paper and glass surfaces.[9,10,11] superhydrophobic paper boards have been produced using LFS.[12,13] LFS produces no effluents in the nanoparticle production process and nanoparticle production speeds up to 300 m/min have been demonstrated.[14]. Plasma polymer coatings been used to impart functionalities such as superhydrophobicity and antistatic properties to fabrics.[29,30,31,32] In addition, plasma coatings have been used as means of improving the adhesion of different materials to fabrics.[33,34,35,36,37] Our previous work has demonstrated the antibacterial efficacy of LFS synthesized silver nanoparticles on paper and glass, and that the nanoparticle adhesion can be improved on glass surfaces with a plasma coating.[9,10,38] In the current study, the LFS-generated antibacterial nanoparticles are deposited onto two fabrics that are commonly used in the hospital environment

Methods

Results

Conclusion