Superabsorbent Fibers for Comfortable Disposable Medical Protective Clothing.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Current disposable medical protective clothing, while effective against microbial and liquid penetration, suffers from poor moisture permeability and breathability.
• This leads to discomfort and a stuffy wearing experience for medical personnel, particularly during extended use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel disposable medical protective clothing material with improved moisture absorption and breathability.
• To enhance the comfort of medical staff by reducing internal humidity within protective garments.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)/polyvinyl alcohol (PAAAM/PVA) superabsorbent fibers via wet spinning.
• Creation of a superabsorbent composite layer using PAAAM/PVA fibers, bamboo pulp fibers (BPF), and ethylene-propylene side by side fibers (ESF).
• Assembly of the novel composite fabric by bonding the superabsorbent layer to an antistatic polypropylene nonwoven fabric.

Main Results:

• The novel composite fabric demonstrated excellent sweat absorption (12.3 g/g) and retention (63.8%).
• It exhibited a significantly higher hygroscopic rate (1.04 g/h) compared to conventional materials (0.53 g/h).
• Moisture permeability reached 12,638.5 g/(m² d), a 307.6% increase over conventional materials.

Conclusions:

• The developed superabsorbent composite fabric effectively manages moisture and enhances breathability.
• This innovation significantly improves the wearing comfort of disposable medical protective clothing for healthcare professionals.