Anticoagulant and antimicrobial finishing of non-woven polypropylene textiles

The aim of this work is to prepare non-woven polypropylene (PP) textile functionalized with bioactive molecules in order to improve its anticoagulation and antibacterial properties. This paper describes the optimization of the grafting process of acrylic acid (AA) on low-pressure cold-plasma pre-activated PP, the characterization of the modified substrates and the effect of these modifications on the in vitro biological response towards cells. Then, the immobilization of gentamicin (aminoglycoside antibiotic) and heparin (anticoagulation agent) has been carried out on the grafted samples by either ionic interactions or covalent linkages. Their bioactivity has been investigated and related to the nature of their interactions with the substrate. For gentamicin-immobilized AA-grafted samples, an inhibition radius and a reduction of 99% of the adhesion of Escherichia coli have been observed when gentamicin was linked by ionic interactions, allowing the release of the antibiotic. By contrast, for heparin-immobilized AA-grafted PP samples, a strong increase of the anticoagulant effect up to 35 min has been highlighted when heparin was covalently bonded on the substrate, by contact with the blood drop.