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Authors
Abstract(s)
O vestuário funcional representa um segmento evolutivo no mercado dos têxteis funcionais,
sendo uma área onde se integram novos domínios como o da medicina, biotecnologia,
nanotecnologia ou informática, para atender às diversas e complexas exigências do utilizador final
atual. No setor médico estas inovações podem ser encontradas em várias aplicações: vestuário,
ligaduras, implantes cirúrgicos, roupas de cama, etc. A área da geriatria em particular tem vindo a
adquirir crescente importância no setor têxtil dado o aumento do número de utilizadores finais com o
aumento da esperança média de vida da população. De facto, a qualidade de vida dos idosos pode,
em muitos casos, ser substancialmente melhorada através de inovações simples na área dos têxteis
funcionais.
O presente trabalho pretende contribuir para dar resposta ao desafio lançado pela empresa
têxtil Nordstrom ao centro de investigação CeNTI (Centro de Nanotecnologia e Materiais Técnicos,
Funcionais e Inteligentes) na valorização de novos materiais têxteis funcionais para aplicações de alto
valor acrescentado na área da geriatria. Neste contexto, estudaram-se novas matrizes têxteis 3D à
base de polímeros naturais que foram recentemente desenvolvidas. Pretendeu-se estudar a
viabilidade de novos têxteis 3D baseados em dois sistemas poliméricos distintos, seda e
cupro/polipropileno, para serem utilizados em pacientes com maior dificuldade de regulação térmica,
acamados e idosos com pouca ou nenhuma atividade física.
Foram estudadas diversas propriedades fisico-químicas dos materiais (hidrofilicidade,
molhabilidade, conforto térmico) e a confortabilidade do produto, através de testes que avaliam a
capacidade de evaporar o suor da pele para o ambiente. Foi também estudada a capacidade de
incorporação de um fármaco modelo de origem natural nos têxteis 3D, a escina, que é um
medicamento utilizado no tratamento sintomático de alterações funcionais das veias dos membros
inferiores (insuficiência venosa crónica).
O substrato têxtil que reuniu as propriedades mais interessantes para a aplicação proposta foi
o têxtil composto por cupro/polipropileno, comparativamente a um têxtil 3D contendo um polímero
natural, a seda, e a têxteis tradicionais de algodão e poliéster. Relativamente ao corforto térmico, o
têxtil 3D de cupro/polipropileno apresentou um isolamento térmico mais elevado comparativamente
aos tecidos de duas dimensões. Esta caraterística é essencial para utilizadores com maior dificuldade
de regulação térmica, como pacientes acamados e idosos com pouca ou nenhuma atividade física.
Este têxtil apresentou em ambas as faces uma hidrofilicidade muito elevada e um perfil de absorção
de água mais favorável, tendo sido capaz de absorver uma maior quantidade de água num intervalo
de tempo mais reduzido. Desta forma este têxtil apresentou uma absorção local e por capilaridade
mais elevada, podendo dizer-se que será mais eficaz na evaporação do suor da pele para o
ambiente.
A partir da funcionalização dos substratos têxteis 2D de algodão e 3D de cupro e
polipropileno com escina, concluíu-se que o último apresenta melhor capacidade de retenção do
fármaco (escina), apresentando um perfil de libertação que pode ser mais facilmente controlado. O tecido consegue reter maior quantidade do fármaco uma vez que a libertação de escina é mais lenta
em comparação com o tecido de algodão 2D, o que permite controlar melhor o doseamento do
fármaco a ser libertado para o organismo humano.
De uma maneira geral, o trabalho apresentado abre caminhos para trabalhos futuros na área
dos materiais têxteis funcionais, enquadrados no âmbito da geriatria e dos cuidados de saúde.
Functional clothing is an evolving segment in the functional textile market, an area where new fields are integrated such as medicine, biotechnology, nanotechnology or information technology, to meet the diverse and complex requirements from the end-user. In the medical industry these innovations can be found in various applications: clothing, bandages, surgical implants, bedding, etc. The geriatric area has been gaining particular importance in the textile sector due to the increasing number of end users with increased life expectancy of the population. In fact, the quality of life of the elderly can in many cases be significantly improved by simple functional innovations in the field of textiles. This thesis aims to contribute to addressing the challenge posed by the textile company Nordstrom to CeNTI research center (Center for Nanotechnology and Technical Materials, Functional and Intelligent), the valuation of new functional textile materials with high added value in geriatric applications. In this context new textile 3D matrices were studied, based on natural polymers that have been recently developed. A study was developed on the applicability of new 3D textiles based on two distinct polymer systems: silk and cupro/polypropylene, for use in patients with greater difficulty in thermoregulation, bedridden and the elderly with little or no physical activity. Various physico-chemical properties of the materials were studied (hydrophilicity, wettability, thermal comfort), and the comfortability of the product through tests that assess the ability to evaporate sweat from skin. The incorporation ability of a natural origin drug of model in 3D textiles, aescin, was also studied, which is a bioactive principle used in the symptomatic treatment of functional disorders of the veins of the lower limbs (chronic venous insufficiency). The 3D textile substrate which has gathered the most interesting properties for the proposed application was the cupro/polypropylene system as compared to the 3D textile containing silk, and the traditional textiles of cotton and polyester. For the thermal corfort, 3D cupro fiber/polypropylene had a higher thermal insulation compared to 2D textile. This feature is essential for users with greater difficulty in thermoregulation, as bedridden patients and elderly with little or no physical activity. This textile presented a higher hydrophilicity on both sides and a more favorable profile of water absorption. It was also capable of absorbing a greater amount of water in a smaller time interval. Since this fiber showed a local absorption and higher capillarity, it can be more effective in allowing evaporation of sweat from the skin to the environment. From the functionalization of cotton 2D textile substrates and 3D cupro/polypropylene with escin, it was concluded that the latter provided better drug retention capacity (escin), showing a release profile which can be more easily controlled. The fabric can hold larger amounts of the drug since the release of escin is slower as compared to the 2D cotton fabric, which consequently will allow a better control of drug dosage to be delivered to the human body. In general, the presented work opens new avenues for future work in the area of functional textiles, in the context of geriatrics and health care.
Functional clothing is an evolving segment in the functional textile market, an area where new fields are integrated such as medicine, biotechnology, nanotechnology or information technology, to meet the diverse and complex requirements from the end-user. In the medical industry these innovations can be found in various applications: clothing, bandages, surgical implants, bedding, etc. The geriatric area has been gaining particular importance in the textile sector due to the increasing number of end users with increased life expectancy of the population. In fact, the quality of life of the elderly can in many cases be significantly improved by simple functional innovations in the field of textiles. This thesis aims to contribute to addressing the challenge posed by the textile company Nordstrom to CeNTI research center (Center for Nanotechnology and Technical Materials, Functional and Intelligent), the valuation of new functional textile materials with high added value in geriatric applications. In this context new textile 3D matrices were studied, based on natural polymers that have been recently developed. A study was developed on the applicability of new 3D textiles based on two distinct polymer systems: silk and cupro/polypropylene, for use in patients with greater difficulty in thermoregulation, bedridden and the elderly with little or no physical activity. Various physico-chemical properties of the materials were studied (hydrophilicity, wettability, thermal comfort), and the comfortability of the product through tests that assess the ability to evaporate sweat from skin. The incorporation ability of a natural origin drug of model in 3D textiles, aescin, was also studied, which is a bioactive principle used in the symptomatic treatment of functional disorders of the veins of the lower limbs (chronic venous insufficiency). The 3D textile substrate which has gathered the most interesting properties for the proposed application was the cupro/polypropylene system as compared to the 3D textile containing silk, and the traditional textiles of cotton and polyester. For the thermal corfort, 3D cupro fiber/polypropylene had a higher thermal insulation compared to 2D textile. This feature is essential for users with greater difficulty in thermoregulation, as bedridden patients and elderly with little or no physical activity. This textile presented a higher hydrophilicity on both sides and a more favorable profile of water absorption. It was also capable of absorbing a greater amount of water in a smaller time interval. Since this fiber showed a local absorption and higher capillarity, it can be more effective in allowing evaporation of sweat from the skin to the environment. From the functionalization of cotton 2D textile substrates and 3D cupro/polypropylene with escin, it was concluded that the latter provided better drug retention capacity (escin), showing a release profile which can be more easily controlled. The fabric can hold larger amounts of the drug since the release of escin is slower as compared to the 2D cotton fabric, which consequently will allow a better control of drug dosage to be delivered to the human body. In general, the presented work opens new avenues for future work in the area of functional textiles, in the context of geriatrics and health care.