Development and characterization of antimicrobial textiles from chitosan-based compounds: Possible biomaterials against SARS-CoV-2 viruses

MARÍA FLORENCIA FAVATELA; JESSICA OTAROLA; VICTORIA BELEN AYALA-PEÑA (AUTOR CORRESPONDIENTE); GUILLERMINA DOLCINI; SANDRA PEREZ; ANDRÉS TORRES NICOLINI; VERA ALEJANDRA ALVAREZ; VERÓNICA LETICIA LASSALLE

JOURNAL OF INORGANIC AND ORGANOMETALLIC POLYMERS AND MATERIALS

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022

1574-1443

Novel antiviral textiles impregnated with different formulations based on Chitosan (CH), citric acid (CA), and Copper (Cu) were developed. CA was selected as a CH crosslinker agent and Cu salts as enhancers of the polymer antimicrobial activity. The characterization of the polymeric-inorganic formulations was assessed by using atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV?Vis spectroscopy, and also by thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis. The achieved data reveal that CuO nanoparticles were formed by means of chitosan and citric acid in the reaction media. The antiviral activity of CH-based formulations against bovine alphaherpesvirus (BoHV-1) and bovine betacoronavirus (BCoV) was analyzed. Textile fibers were impregnated with selected formulations and the antiviral properties of such textiles were examined before and after 5 to 10 washing cycles. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was selected to analyze the antiviral activities of the functionalized textiles. The resulting impregnated textiles exhibit integrated properties of good adhesion without substantially modifying the textile appearance and antiviral efficacy (~100%), which enable to serve as a scalable biocidal layer for protective equipment by providing contact killing against pathogens. Thus, the results reveal a viable contribution to the design of functional-active materials based on a natural polymer such as chitosan. This proposal may be considered as a potential tool to inhibit the propagation and dissemination of enveloped viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.