ZnO coated nonwoven polypropylene fabric with antibacterial and antiviral function for medical applications

The present pandemic has highlighted the necessity of infection protection gear as a crucial protective approach, particularly given the fact that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) readily infects individuals in poorly ventilated environments. Embedding antimicrobial function onto protection gear would have major implications in minimizing pathogen contamination and lowering healthcare associated illness. In this study, non woven polypropylene fabric (NWPP) which is widely used in personal hygiene products and hospital protective gears has been subjected to surface fictionalization with corona treatment. Surface polarity of the treated fabric was studied by use of dyne liquid which showed generation of surface polarization. Subsequently, the resultant surface polarized NWPP were spray coated with zinc oxide (ZnO) antiviral agent. The antiviral agents were rendered to adhere to NWPP by use of polyurethane solution coating on the fabric. The effect of antiviral coatings on NWPP fabric with the use of polyurethane solution as an adhesive were investigated in terms of antiviral activity and anti-bacterial activity against MS2 bacteriophage and Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia bacteria respectively. Coating of surface polarized NWPP with polyurethene binder reduced the leaching of antiviral coating. More importantly, the fabrics exhibited promising antiviral and anti bacterial activity with 99.90 % reduction in microorganisms after 24 hours of exposure.