• Vähä-Nissi, Mika
• Heikkilä, Pirjo
• Nikkola, Juha
• Hertzen, Leo Von
• Harlin, Ali
• Koskela, Hanna

Abstract

Nonwovens are versatile material group suitable forvarious medical applications including. Properties ofnonwoven materials can be adjusted by functionalizationwith various surface treatment and coating technologies.Printing methods e.g. can be used in functionalization ofselected areas of nonwoven material. The foam coatingtechnology enables application of thin functionalcoatings. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and solgeltechniques can be used to adjust surface properties withinorganic coatings also in nanoscale. In thispresentation we will review some examples of nonwovensfunctionalization's with above mentioned technologies. Weused screen printing method in order to prepare a medicalcloth for application medical aids to skin. Creamtransfer onto skin was tested and material showed promisee.g. for use for controlled dosage of medical creams. Weused foam coating to make functional coating ontocellulosic fibre based nonwoven materials with polyvinylalcohol (PVA)-nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC)-ZnO/TiO2-solution. Coating increased the strength of nonwovenmaterial compared to non-coated material most likely dueto NFC and PVA, while metal oxides made itbacteriostatic. This kind of material could be used e.g.in wound care and bandage applications. Surfaceproperties of nonwovens were adjusted by ALD and sol-gelcoatings. Hydrophobicity of coated nonwovens depended onthe used coating methods, material, coating thickness andsurface roughness. Prospective applications for metaloxide functionalized textiles include with water, oil andsoil repellent and antimicrobial medical textiles.

Topics

• surface
• strength
• cellulose
• functionalization
• atomic layer deposition
• coating method