Waterless Cleaning Of Thermobonded Nonwovens For Medical Purposes

Interest in plasma-chemically oxidized surfaces, such as chemically active substrates, which have great potential for interaction with chemical reagents (grafts), cells and tissues, is constantly growing. Plasma generated by a dielectric barrier discharge burning at atmospheric pressure and different frequencies is most often used for processing textile materials. Plasma treatment also leads to the removal of contaminants obtained during the production of medical materials without the use of water. The degree of cleaning depends on the conditions of the process. This article offers a comparison between two technological possibilities for waterless cleaning of thermally bonded non-woven 100% PP materials - by using cold technological plasma obtained from a dielectric barrier discharge and a glow discharge burning in a vacuum chamber. The paper presents data from experimental studies on basic nonwoven textile properties such as mass change, puncture strength, and moisture absorption. The findings of the experiments show that a properly planned treatment regime can successfully manage the hydrophilic/hydrophobic equilibrium. The study demonstrates that atmospheric plasma burning at atmospheric pressure at applied voltage U
eff
= 6kV and treatment time t = 5min is the best treatment mode for processing of 100 % PP.