Bioengineering the Future: Tomato Peel Cutin as a Resource for Medical Textiles

The exponential increase in medical waste production has increased the difficulty of waste management, resulting in higher medical waste dispersion into the environment. By employing a circular economy approach, it is possible to develop new materials by waste valorization. The employment of biodegradable and renewable agro-food, waste-derived materials may reduce the environmental impact caused by the dispersion of medical waste. In this work, tomato peel recovered cutin was blended with poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLAPCL) to develop new textiles for medical application through electrospinning. The textile fabrication process was studied by varying Cut content in the starting suspensions and by optimizing fabrication parameters. Devices with dense and porous structures were developed, and their morphological, thermal, and physical-chemical properties were evaluated through scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Textile material stability to γ-irradiation was evaluated through gel permeation chromatography, while its wettability, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility were analyzed through contact angle measurement, tensile test, and MTT assay, respectively. The LCA methodology was used to evaluate the environmental impact of textile production, with a specific focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The main results demonstrated the suitability of PLAPCL-cutin blends to be processed through electrospinning and the obtained textile's suitability to be used to develop surgical face masks or patches for wound healing.