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Advances in Smart Textiles for Health Care and Personal Protection

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 August 2022) | Viewed by 13571

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Polymer Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 845 41 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: natural and biodegradable polymers; textile technology; nanomaterials; plastics and biomass recycling; packaging; biologically active polymers; material characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Hydrodynamics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of Fluid Mechanics, Pod Patankou 30/5, 166 12 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Interests: nanofibers; modification; electrospinning; nanoparticles; rheology of polymer solutions and melts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Polymers focuses on synthesis, characterization, and functional properties of novel textiles for health care and personal protection.

The persistent global pandemic situation and current prognosis serve as motivation for this Special Issue. There is no doubt that advanced smart textiles are currently one of the most highly demanded products ever for use in personal protection, filtration, and health care. In this respect, all alternative materials and methods of fabrication should be seriously considered.

This Special Issue will focus on the latest advances and reports on the progress of polymers for application in textiles and textile-based materials, including but not limited to advanced and innovative fibers, yarns, fabric structures, textile technologies and processes, textile composites for applications (especially in the health care), personal protection, and filtration. Ascertaining detailed knowledge of the materials used to create smart textiles and their physical, chemical, mechanical, and surface properties requires a multidisciplinary approach. While covering a broad range of fundamental, experimental, and industrial topics, we would like to stimulate researchers around the globe to share their exciting and promising works.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. Original research papers, review articles, and short communications are warmly welcome.

Dr. Alena Opálková Šišková
Dr. Petra Peer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • passive and active smart textile
  • personal protection
  • health care
  • filtration
  • innovative facemasks
  • self-cleaning and antibacterial textiles
  • functionalized textiles
  • textile composites
  • technologies and processes
  • plastic waste recycling for smart textiles

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 19406 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Textile-Based Dry Electrode and Analysis of Its Surface EMG Signal for Applying Smart Wear
by Hyelim Kim, Soohyeon Rho, Sora Han, Daeyoung Lim and Wonyoung Jeong
Polymers 2022, 14(17), 3641; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173641 - 2 Sep 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2612
Abstract
Ag/AgCl hydrogel electrodes, which are wet electrodes, are generally used to acquire bio-signals non-invasively. Research concerning dry electrodes is ongoing due to the following limitations of wet electrodes: (1) skin irritation and disease when attached for a long time; (2) poor adhesion due [...] Read more.
Ag/AgCl hydrogel electrodes, which are wet electrodes, are generally used to acquire bio-signals non-invasively. Research concerning dry electrodes is ongoing due to the following limitations of wet electrodes: (1) skin irritation and disease when attached for a long time; (2) poor adhesion due to sweat; and (3) considerable cost due to disposable use. Accordingly, electrodes in film, embroidery, and knit forms were manufactured from conductive sheets and conductive yarns, which are typical textile-type dry electrode materials, using different manufacturing methods and conditions. The prepared electrodes were conducted to measure the morphology, surface resistance, skin-electrode impedance, EMG signal acquisition, and analysis. The conductive sheet type electrode exhibited a similar skin-impedance, noise, and muscle activation signal amplitude to the Ag/AgCl gel electrode due to the excellent adhesion and shape stabilization. Embroidery electrodes were manufactured based on two-dimension lock stitch (Em_LS) and three-dimension moss-stitch (Em_MS). More stable EMG signal acquisition than Em_LS was possible when manufactured with Em_MS. The knit electrode was manufactured with the typical structures of plain, purl, and interlock. Although it was possible to acquire EMG signals, considerable noise was generated as the shape and size of the electrodes were changed due to the stretch characteristics of the knit structure. Finally, the applicability of the textile-type dry electrode was confirmed by combining it with a wearable device. More stable and accurate EMG signal acquirement will be possible through more precise parameter control in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Smart Textiles for Health Care and Personal Protection)
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13 pages, 978 KiB  
Article
Correlation of Air Permeability to Other Breathability Parameters of Textiles
by Karel Adámek, Antonin Havelka, Zdenek Kůs and Adnan Mazari
Polymers 2022, 14(1), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14010140 - 30 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3002
Abstract
In the field of textile comfort of smart textiles, the breathability of the material is very important. That includes the flow of air, water and water vapours through the textile material. All these experiments are time consuming and costly; only air permeability is [...] Read more.
In the field of textile comfort of smart textiles, the breathability of the material is very important. That includes the flow of air, water and water vapours through the textile material. All these experiments are time consuming and costly; only air permeability is much faster and economical. The research is performed to find correlation between these phenomena of breathability and to predict the permeability based on only the air permeability measurement. Furthermore, it introduces a new way of expressing the Ret (water vapour resistance) unit according to SI standards as it is connected with the air permeability of garments. The need to find a correlation between air permeability and water vapour permeability is emphasised in order to facilitate the assessment of clothing comfort. The results show that there is a strong relation between air permeability and water vapour permeability for most of the textile material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Smart Textiles for Health Care and Personal Protection)
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10 pages, 1753 KiB  
Article
Effect of Needle Heating on the Sewing of Medical Textiles
by Adnan Mazari
Polymers 2021, 13(24), 4405; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13244405 - 15 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2604
Abstract
Medical textiles, such as gowns, scrubs, and even disposable uniforms, are all stitched by sewing machines. These garments are mostly made from polypropylene (PP) and polyester due to their durability, antibacterial performance, and functionality. Demand for these garments has significantly risen in the [...] Read more.
Medical textiles, such as gowns, scrubs, and even disposable uniforms, are all stitched by sewing machines. These garments are mostly made from polypropylene (PP) and polyester due to their durability, antibacterial performance, and functionality. Demand for these garments has significantly risen in the last few years, and sewing machines are able to stitch at extremely high speeds. However, higher sewing speeds can cause burnt spots on the fabric, lower seam strength, and a decrease in production due to thread breakage. In this paper, I have deeply discussed how medical textiles lose their strength and functionality due to higher sewing speeds; this problem is often neglected due to high production demands. This research is based on PP medical gowns, stitched with polyester (PET) threads, sewn at different speeds. The experimental work is also followed by a theoretical explanation of needle heating during the stitching of medical textiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Smart Textiles for Health Care and Personal Protection)
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23 pages, 5803 KiB  
Article
Electrospun Poly(ethylene Terephthalate)/Silk Fibroin Composite for Filtration Application
by Alena Opálková Šišková, Katarína Mosnáčková, Jakub Hrůza, Jaroslava Frajová, Andrej Opálek, Mária Bučková, Katarína Kozics, Petra Peer and Anita Eckstein Andicsová
Polymers 2021, 13(15), 2499; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13152499 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3922
Abstract
In this study, fibrous membranes from recycled-poly(ethylene terephthalate)/silk fibroin (r-PSF) were prepared by electrospinning for filtration applications. The effect of silk fibroin on morphology, fibers diameters, pores size, wettability, chemical structure, thermo-mechanical properties, filtration efficiency, filtration performance, and comfort properties such as air [...] Read more.
In this study, fibrous membranes from recycled-poly(ethylene terephthalate)/silk fibroin (r-PSF) were prepared by electrospinning for filtration applications. The effect of silk fibroin on morphology, fibers diameters, pores size, wettability, chemical structure, thermo-mechanical properties, filtration efficiency, filtration performance, and comfort properties such as air and water vapor permeability was investigated. The filtration efficiency (FE) and quality factor (Qf), which represents filtration performance, were calculated from penetration through the membranes using aerosol particles ranging from 120 nm to 2.46 μm. The fiber diameter influenced both FE and Qf. However, the basis weight of the membranes has an effect, especially on the FE. The prepared membranes were classified according to EN149, and the most effective was assigned to the class FFP1 and according to EN1822 to the class H13. The impact of silk fibroin on the air permeability was assessed. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity against bacteria S. aureus and E. coli and biocompatibility were evaluated. It is discussed that antibacterial activity depends not only on the type of used materials but also on fibrous membranes’ surface wettability. In vitro biocompatibility of the selected samples was studied, and it was proven to be of the non-cytotoxic effect of the keratinocytes (HaCaT) after 48 h of incubation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Smart Textiles for Health Care and Personal Protection)
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