Efficacy and functionality of silver-coated textiles in patients with atopic eczema

BACKGROUND: Microbial skin colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is known to play an important role in atopic eczema (AE). Recently, an antibacterial effect of silver-coated textiles on S. aureus colonization has been demonstrated. OBJECTIVES: To investigate clinical efficacy and functionality of silver-coated textiles in AE, a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. PATIENTS/METHODS: From November 2001 to August 2002, 68 consecutive outpatients clinically diagnosed with generalized AE were included in the study. Inclusion criteria were the clinical diagnosis of AE with a moderate severity as measured by the scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index with at least 20. Patients were instructed to wear either silver-coated (verum, 35 patients + 2 dropouts) or cotton garments (placebo, 22 patients + 9 dropouts) directly on the skin for 2 weeks. Only basic skin care and ongoing therapy with topical steroids or oral antihistamines was permitted. Clinical severity was assessed using the 'SCORAD' before, during and at the end of study. Quality of life (QOL), wearing comfort (WC) and functionality (FU) of study clothes were measured in parallel. Patients documented their subjective and objective symptoms daily. RESULTS: In the verum group, eczema improved significantly after 1 week with further enhancement until the end of study (P = 0.03 and P < 0.001). Silver-coated textiles were comparable to cotton in WC and FU. Pruritus and self-assigned skin condition improved significantly more than with placebo (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, silver-coated textiles are able to improve objective and subjective symptoms of AE significantly within 2 weeks, showing a good wearing comfort and functionality comparable to cotton.     

Copper Iodide on Spacer Fabrics as Textile Thermoelectric Device for Energy Generation

The integration of electronic functionalities into textiles for use as wearable sensors, energy harvesters, or coolers has become increasingly important in recent years. A special focus is on efficient thermoelectric materials. Copper iodide as a p-type thermoelectrically active, nontoxic material is attractive for energy harvesting and energy generation because of its transparency and possible high-power factor. The deposition of CuI on polyester spacer fabrics by wet chemical processes represents a great potential for use in textile industry for example as flexible thermoelectric energy generators in the leisure or industrial sector as well as in medical technologies. The deposited material on polyester yarn is investigated by electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and by thermoelectric measurements. The Seebeck coefficient was observed between 112 and 153 µV/K in a temperature range between 30 °C and 90 °C. It is demonstrated that the maximum output power reached 99 nW at temperature difference of 65.5 K with respect to room temperature for a single textile element. However, several elements can be connected in series and the output power can be linear upscaled. Thus, CuI coated on 3D spacer fabrics can be attractive to fabricate thermoelectric devices especially in the lower temperature range for textile medical or leisure applications.     

Dimethylthiourea, an unexpected hazard for textile workers

Our patient was a 24-year-old female textile cutter who had a conjunctivitis and an erythematous itching dermatitis of the eyelids, nasal mucous membranes, and the corners of the mouth. The patch tests with the standard series and a pharmaceutical test battery were negative. Further epicutaneous testing revealed a strong positive reaction to the textile cutting patterns she handled, which were duplicated by diazo processing. Specifically, the contact dermatitis reaction was caused by dimethylthiourea, an additive in diazo-sensitized paper.     

A Review of Impact of Textile Research on Protective Face Masks

COVID-19, classified as SARS-CoV-2, is causing an ongoing global pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in the loss of lives and has caused economic hardships. Most of the devices used to protect against the transmission of the novel COVID-19 disease are related to textile structures. Hence, the challenge for textile professionals is to design and develop suitable textile structures with multiple functionalities for capturing viruses, passivating them, and, at the same time, having no adverse effects on humans during the complete period of use. In addition to manufacturing efficient, biocompatible, and cost-effective protective face masks, it is also necessary to inform the public about the benefits and risks of protective face mask materials. The purpose of this article is to address the concerns of efficiency and efficacy of face masks by primarily reviewing the literature of research conducted at the Technical University of Liberec. The main focus is on the presentation of problems related to the specification of aims of face mask applications, mechanisms of capture, durability, and modes of sterilization. The recommendations, instead of conclusions, are addressed to the whole textile society because they should be leading players in the design, creation, and proper treatment of face masks due to their familiarity with the complex behavior of textile structures and targeted changes of structural hierarchy starting from polymeric chains (nano-level) and ending in planar textile structures (millimeter level) due to action by mechanical, physical and chemical fields. This becomes extremely critical to saving hundreds of thousands of lives from COVID-19.     

Skin–textile friction and skin elasticity in young and aged persons

Background/purpose: The mechanical properties of human skin are known to change with ageing, rendering skin less resistant to friction and shear forces, as well as more vulnerable to wounds. Until now, only few and contradictory results on the age-dependent friction properties of skin have been reported. This study has investigated in detail the influence of age on the friction of human skin against textiles.
Methods: In vivo skin-friction measurements on a force plate were combined with skin analyses concerning elasticity, hydration, pH value and sebum content. Thirty-two young and 28 aged persons rubbed their volar forearm in a reciprocating motion against various textiles on the force plate, using defined normal loads and sliding velocities, representing clinically relevant contact conditions.
Results: Mean friction coefficients ranged from 0.30 ± 0.04 (polytetrafluoroethylene) to 0.43 ± 0.04 (cotton/polyester). No significant differences in the friction properties of skin were found between the age groups despite skin elasticity being significantly lower in the aged persons. Skin hydration was significantly higher in the elderly, whereas no significant differences were observed in either skin pH value or sebum content.
Conclusion: Adhesion is usually assumed to be the dominant factor in skin friction, but our observations imply that deformation is also an important factor in the friction of aged skin. In the elderly, lower skin elasticity and skin turgor are associated with more pronounced skin tissue displacements and greater shear forces during frictional contact, emphasizing the importance of friction reduction in wound-prevention programmes.     

Medical textiles in orthopedics: An overview

The use of textile in the medical field is not new; this has given rise to a new branch known as medical textiles. These are being used to repair or replace various other musculoskeletal tissues. The most common uses of biomaterials are to create aseptic conditions for protection, general health care, and hygiene including bedding and clothing, surgical gowns, face masks, head and shoe covers, sterilization wraps, suture anchors, fiber cast and braces/orthotics. These are also used as materials for preparation of wipes, swabs, wound dressings, bandages, gauzes, plasters, pressure garments, orthopedic belts and for new applications, such as heart valves, vascular grafts, artificial veins, artificial ligaments, artificial joints, artificial skin, and artificial cartilage. The truth is that nowadays the use of biomedical textiles is more rampant than anyone realizes. Commonly used materials for preparation of biomedical textiles includes Cotton, Nylon, Silk, Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, Polyester, Polypropylene, Poly tetra-fluoro ethylene, Polyether ether ketone, and Polyether ketone. These are prepared from various monomers in varying proportions as per the requirement of the material to be used. Various methods are used in their preparation like Braiding, Knitting, and Weaving, which helps in the development of certain kinds of materials with different specificity and character. Other important measures in the preparation of the medical textile include Denier (the filament counts in multifilament fibers), Tenacity (the strength per denier) and Heat shrink (the amount of shrinkage at a particular time and temperature).     

Do Textiles Impact DXA Bone Density or Body Composition Results?

External artifacts can confound dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements. It is often accepted that garments free of metal do not affect DXA results; however, little data exist in this regard. It is plausible that some textiles absorb radiation and thereby alter DXA results. We hypothesized that some dense or synthetic textiles, for example, reflective materials, might alter DXA-measured bone and soft tissue mass. Hologic and GE Lunar spine phantoms and a Bioclinica prototype total body phantom were imaged on a GE Lunar iDXA and Prodigy densitometer. Each phantom was scanned 10 times to establish mean values. Subsequently, 2 layers of various fabrics were placed over the entire top surface of the phantom, and 10 scans were performed without repositioning. Samples of natural, synthetic, or embellished fabric (including those with reflective material) and of varying thickness were used. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare the means between bare phantom and textile-covered phantom. Significant differences were demonstrated often, depending on the scanner, phantom, and textile used. A polyester fabric with reflective strip consistently altered measurements. For example, this fabric increased measured mean lumbar spine bone mineral density and total body bone mineral content by 0.008?g/cm² and 3.6?g, respectively (p?<?0.01). Similarly, mean total body fat decreased (?173 g) and lean mass increased (+213 g; p?<?0.01). Fat and lean mass were also affected by metallic thread, wool, blend denim, and shiny polyester (p?<?0.05), and lean mass was affected by cotton denim and sweatshirt material (p?<?0.0003). In conclusion, textiles can affect DXA-measured bone mineral density and body composition results. Even small amounts of reflective material could alter mass measurements by ~25% of the least significant change. Clothing made of dense textiles (e.g., wool and denim) or those with reflective material and metallic thread should be avoided during DXA scanning.     

Acoustic Performance of Sound Absorbing Materials Produced from Wool of Local Mountain Sheep

Wool of mountain sheep, treated nowadays as a waste or troublesome byproduct of sheep husbandry, was used for the production of sound-absorbing materials. Felts of two different thicknesses were produced from loose fibres. Additionally, two types of yarn, ring spun and core rug, were obtained. The yarns were used for the production of tufted fabric with cut and loop piles. During the examinations, basic parameters of the obtained materials were determined. Then, according to standard procedure with the use of impedance tube, the sound absorption coefficient was measured, and the noise reduction coefficient (NRC) was calculated. It was revealed that felt produced from coarse wool exhibits high porosity, and its sound absorbing capacity is strongly related to the felt thickness. For thicker felt the NRC achieved 0.4, which is comparable with the NRC of commercial ceiling tiles. It was shown that the crucial parameter influencing the sound absorption of the tufted fabrics was the pile height. For both types of yarns, when the height of the pile was increased from 12 to 16 mm, the NRC increased from 0.4 to 0.42. The manufactured materials made from local wool possess good absorption capacity, similar to commercial products usually made from more expensive wool types. The materials look nice and can be used for noise reduction as inner acoustic screens, panels, or carpets.     

Quality and Quantity Assessment of the Water Repellent Properties of Functional Clothing Materials after Washing

The aim of the research was to evaluate the changes in the surface properties of five functional clothing materials with water-repellent finishes (including PFC-free finish) after 1, 5, and 10 washes with three detergents. A new approach to the interpretation of the water-repellent properties of textile materials is presented, based on two techniques, i.e., the spray test method and contact angle measurements. The results showed that washing materials with hydrophobic finishes can cause significant changes in their properties, which are mainly dependent on the composition and structure of the material, as well as the type of hydrophobic finish. The PFC-free finish is the least resistant to washing. For all materials with PFC finishes, the water repellency depends on the fluorine content on the surface and fabric topography. It was also found that increasing washing frequency resulted in a gradual decrease in water repellency. The loss of water repellency below an acceptable level (Grade 3) occurred after the fifth washing for all materials. Significant differences in the interpretation of the results of the spray test and contact angle measurements were observed. Using these methods separately provides information on the changes in the surface properties of the tested materials; however, their parallel application allows for obtaining complementary data, which is important for the proper interpretation of results.