A REVIEW ON DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIMICROBIAL AND LIQUID/BLOOD REPELLENT SURGICAL GOWN FOR HOSPITAL USAGE

Recently care regarding functional finishing of medical apparels such as liquid/blood repellent and antimicrobial has increased due to the risk of harmful microbes generation on these fabrics while coming in contact with fluids such as blood, sebum etc. Of the various medical textiles, surgical apparels are important textile products as they protect health care workers from microbial contamination. As consumers have become more aware of hygiene and potentially harmful effects of microbes, the demand for antimicrobial finished clothing is increasing. Different chemicals and heavy metal finished fabrics even though provide good liquid/blood repellent and antimicrobial activity, but these compounds cannot be used for the development of surgical gown due to factors like toxicity and non-biodegradability. Over the last few years, several attempts have been made to replace petroleum products with renewable and biodegradable components. Hence, fabric finished with chitosan (natural polymer)-herbal bionanocomposite are considered significant for fulfilling these objectives. This review discusses different protective textiles prepared with different antimicrobial and liquid/blood repellent finish used in medical textiles. It also sheds light on the development of bifunctional fabrics (as surgical gown) for health care workers in order to mitigate cross contamination.