Silver nanoparticles-immobilized-radiation grafted polypropylene fabric as breathable, antibacterial wound dressing

In this work, a simplistic approach for developing an antibacterial and hydrophilic non-woven polypropylene (NWPP) fabric with excellent breathability has been presented via a two-step process. In the first step, acrylic acid was introduced onto NWPP fabric using simultaneous irradiation graft polymerization and pre-irradiation graft polymerization methods. Different grafting parameters, e.g., absorbed dose, monomer concentration, homopolymer inhibitor, reaction time, etc., were studied to optimize the grafting process. Subsequently, the acrylic acid grafted NWPP (NWPP-g-AA) fabric was immobilized with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), prepared from silver nitrate using trisodium citrate as reducing agent. After optimizing the grafting parameters, the NWPP-g-AA and Ag NPs-(NWPP-g-AA) samples were thoroughly characterized by grafting yield, FTIR, SEM, TEM, water contact angle, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and mechanical properties. The Ag NP-(NWPP-g-AA) fabric samples exhibited desired hydrophilicity, breathability and mechanical strength. Ag NP-(NWPP-g-AA) fabric samples were tested for antibacterial activity using plate count method after serial dilution, and exhibited excellent antibacterial efficacy against S.aureus (gram positive) and E.coli (gram negative) bacteria. This strategy demonstrated that a hydrophilic NWPP fabric having long-lasting antimicrobial activity was developed by gamma radiation-induced graft polymerization, which offers an ideal material for antibacterial wound dressing applications.

Automated summary

This study developed an antibacterial and hydrophilic non-woven polypropylene fabric with excellent breathability through a two-step process. Acrylic acid was introduced onto the fabric using simultaneous irradiation graft polymerization and pre-irradiation graft polymerization methods. The fabric was then immobilized with silver nanoparticles. The resulting fabric samples exhibited desired properties and demonstrated excellent antibacterial efficacy.