Department of Textile and Leather Technology

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12504/147

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Browsing Department of Textile and Leather Technology by Author "Meifang Zhu"

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    Bifunctional catechol-based coating strategy to construct highly effective antimicrobial polyethylene microfibers for personal protective equipment
    (ScienceDirect: Progress in Organic Coatings, 2025-01) Mbonimpa Innocent; Gongxun Zhai; Mugaanire Tendo Innocent; Jialiang Zhou; Xin Dai; Tianqi Jiang; Jinqi Wang; Hengxue Xiang; Meifang Zhu
    Polyethylene (PE) microfiber materials are of great interest in the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to their cost-effectiveness and excellent mechanical and barrier properties. However, they lack inherent antibacterial properties and are therefore susceptible to attack and contamination by microorganisms, leading to the spread of associated infections. Incorporating antibacterial agents onto the material's surface is an effective approach to achieve antimicrobial functionality. Nevertheless, this is limited by the chemical inertness of PE, thus requiring surface modification treatments. Here, we successfully synthesized bifunctional catechol-based antibacterial polymeric coatings and applied them to develop durable antibacterial PE fabrics through dip-coating. Cationic copolymers comprising dopamine methacrylamide (DMA) and hexylated vinyl pyridine (QVP) moieties were prepared through free radical polymerization (FRP) followed by N-alkylation with hexyl bromide. The copolymers were extensively studied to investigate the effect of composition on the yield and antibacterial properties. The copolymers exhibited good antibacterial properties in an aqueous solution, and the antibacterial activity and yield were higher in copolymers with higher QVP units. In addition, the prepared antibacterial PE fabrics exhibited good antibacterial activity against gram-positive Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli), which remained unaffected by several laundering cycles, thus hold potential for use in antibacterial protective textiles.
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    Tunable hydrophobic‑antimicrobial terpolymers enable long‑lasting, wash‑resistant protection of polyethylene fabrics
    (Progress in Organic Coatings, 2025-12-17) Mbonimpa, Innocent; Gongxun Zhai; Mugaanire Tendo Innocent; Senlong Yu; Tianqi Jiang; Jinqi Wang; Hengxue Xiang; Meifang Zhu
    The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and healthcare-associated infections has escalated the demand for advanced antibacterial materials. Polyethylene (PE) fabrics, renowned for their exceptional mechanical and barrier properties, have garnered significant attention in personal protective equipment (PPE). However, their susceptibility to bacterial contamination presents a considerable challenge. While dopamine-based copolymer coatings have been explored for imparting antibacterial properties, they often induce an undesirable increase in hydrophilicity, thereby compromising the hydrophobicity and barrier performance of PE fabrics. To address this limitation, we developed terpolymers synthesized via free radical polymerization, comprising dopamine methacrylamide (DMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), and vinyl pyridine (VP), followed by quaternization with hexyl bromide. By systematically varying the BMA/VP ratios while maintaining a constant DMA content, five distinct terpolymer compositions were synthesized. The incorporation of hydrophobic BMA and hexyl groups effectively counteracted the inherent hydrophilicity of DMA, resulting in PE fabrics with water contact angles exceeding 85°. The antibacterial efficacy of the coated fabrics against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis remained consistently above 99.9 % after 50 laundry cycles, demonstrating the coating's exceptional durability. Additionally, the fabrics exhibited a tensile strength of 32.4 MPa, excellent biocompatibility, and reduced air permeability, positioning them as promising candidates for long-term use in protective clothing.