Ambient air plasma pre-treatment of non-woven fabrics for deposition of antibacterial poly (l-lactide) nanoparticles

Production of medical dressings specific to infected wounds remains one of the great challenges in medicine. In this paper, an integrated application that allows the immobilization of poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) nanoparticles (NPs) containing the antimicrobial agent octenidine on non-woven fabrics (NWs) is investigated. Non-thermal plasma generated by atmospheric pressure diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) was used for activation, modification, and improvement of the surface properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) NWs. The DCSBD system was integrated into a roll-to-roll production setup that prepared NWs for deposition of NPs using purpose-adapted inkjet printing equipment. The surface properties of the plasma-treated polymers were examined by means of strike-through time (SST) measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The plasma modification of PET and PP NWs improved NP distribution and enabled uniform diffusion over polymer surfaces. The SST measurements indicate improvements in the hydrophilicity and permeability of plasma-treated PET and PP fabrics by reducing strike-through time from 400s (for untreated polymers) to 6s. This continuous method of delivering NPs onto plasma-pretreated polymer surfaces has the potential to be adapted to impregnated dressing production, with considerable benefits in terms of cheapness, convenience, speed, and full automation.