Smart Textiles for Healthcare and Sustainability
At the forefront of the smart textile community, healthcare and
sustainability are the two crucial objectives targeted by researchers. The development of such
powerful devices has been driven by innovative fabrications of breathable, skin-conformable
technologies through the use of functional and programmable materials and device structures. This
Perspective focuses on the current smart textiles available in the research field, categorized into
personalized healthcare, including diagnostics and therapeutics, and sustainability, including energy
harvesting and conservation─personalized thermoregulation. These categories are further broken down
into their platform structural technologies and performances.
Nanomaterials in Textile Coating and Finishes
The coating and finishes are used in to improve the appearance and
performance of dyed fabric in textile industry. Finishing is done through mechanical, thermal, and
chemical processes. Chemical finishes are generally applied as an aqueous solution or emulsion that
impregnate the fibers. On the other hand, textile coatings involve the application of a viscous liquid
at the surface of the fabric, which will not only cover the yarns but also the space between them. The
modern applications of nano-enabled coatings and finishes include antibacterial wound dressings,
odour-free socks and shoe insole, stain-resistant, crease-free, and fast drying clothing,
water-repellent yet breathable raincoats and sleeping bags and hydrodynamic swimsuits.
Coated Fabrics
Coated fabrics are synthesized by carrying out the surface treatment of
homogenous polymeric
materials and different textile forms such as woven, knit or non-woven that are utilized as substrate.
The polymeric coating should adhere to the textile material, maintaining the required thickness and
cured subsequently.
Coating a fabric has several advantages, for instance, protecting the textile from atmospheric damage
such as UV rays or harsh weather conditions, proofing the materials from water and moisture or even
altering the macro-mechanical behaviour of fabric like tensile or tear according to the sine qua non.
Biohazard and NBC suits
Biohazard and NBC(Nuclear, biological and chemical ) suits have two
chief functions, gas or vapor protection and splash protection. Gas protection suits are specifically
designed to shield wearer from anything except radiation. They are totally encapsulated, over-inflated
and worn with self-contained breathing apparatus(SCBA) to allow the wearer to breath easily even in
completely closed system.
Their level of protection is determined according to their permeation rate, breakthrough rate and
degradation. Their permeation rate should be low to block or abate the contagions from moving through
the suit material. Their breakthrough time, which refers the time taken for contagions to completely
permeate through the suit, should be greater. The materials of these suits shouldn’t degrade when they
come in contact with the contagions.
Medical Textiles in Healthcare and Hygiene Products
Natural and synthetic material are used to prepare health care hygiene
products. The fiber used in medical textile –Natural fiber (cotton, silk, etc.) and synthetic fibers
(poly-ester, viscose, polyamide, polypropylene, carbon, glass) Bandages, plaster, wound dressing
products are called non-implantable medical textile product are prepared from textile fibers. Sutures
and ligaments, vascular grafts, artificial skin, artificial cornea, contact lenses and dental
biomaterials implant are also prepared from textiles. A lot of sanitary and hygiene products are also
prepared from textiles. Surgical mask, drapes and clothes, surgical gowns, surgical caps, gloves, baby
dippers and sanitary napkins are directly produced from textile materials.
Smart textiles of MOF
Smart textiles consisting of cotton, Cu-BTC MOF and oxidized graphitic
carbon nitride, g-C3N4-ox, nanospheres were synthesized and tested as nerve agent detoxification media
and colorimetric detectors. Combining Cu-BTC and g-C3N4-ox resulted in a nanocomposite (MOFgCNox) of
heterogeneous porosity and chemistry. Upon the deposition of MOFgCNox onto cotton textiles, a stable
fabric with a supreme photocatalytic detoxification ability towards the nerve gas surrogate, dimethyl
chlorophosphate, was obtained. The detoxification process was accompanied by a visible and gradual
color change, which can be used for the selective detection of chemical warfare agents and for
monitoring their penetration inside a protective layer. These smart textiles adsorbed almost 7 g of
CWA surrogate/its detoxification products per gram of Cu. The superior performance was linked to the
high dispersion of the MOF crystals on the fibers, and a specific texture promoting the availability
of the active copper centers.
