Developing antiviral surgical gown using nonwoven fabrics for health care sector

Background: Healthcare workers’ uniforms including surgical gowns are used as barriers to eliminate the risk of infection for both doctor and patient. The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and C viruses in the patient population is very common.
Objectives: To develop antiviral surgical gown comprising of Polypropylene nonwoven as outer layer, Polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) film as middle layer and polyester nonwoven as inner layer and the surgical gown with a basic weight of 70 g/m².
Methods: The titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nano dispersion was prepared with methylene blue and urea as a reacting medium. These nano particles have an average size of 9 nm which was revealed by High resolution transmission electron microscope. The nonwoven fabric pore size was characterised by using digital image analyzer. The polypropylene nonwoven fabrics were treated with nano dispersion by pad-dry-cure method and trilaminate fabric was formed using fusing machine. The presence of nano particle on the surface of the non woven fabric was confirmed by Scanning Electron microscope.
Results: The trilaminate surgical gown has passed ASTM 1671 viral penetration test which is mandatory for healthcare facilities. The average pore size of inner, middle and outer layer were found as 0.187, 0.4 and 0.147 micron respectively. The tensile strength of the trilaminate fabric in both machine and cross direction was 145 N and 94 N respectively. The tearing strength of the trilaminate fabric in direction I and II was 10 N and 4 N respectively. The hydrostatic and index puncture resistance of the trilaminate fabric was 2930 mmwc and 58.8 N respectively. The moisture vapour permeability of the fabric was exhibited as 585.7 g/m²/day.
Conclusion: The surgical gown exhibits antiviral property which can protect the health care people from human immunodeficiency virus.