The biodegradation of fabrics of various types of fibres: cotton (CO), viscose (CV), Modal (CMD), Tencel (CLY), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene teraphtalate (PET) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN)) under the attack of microorganisms were studied using the soil burial method for two different burial intervals (1 month and 4 months). As opposed to previous studies, all analyses were simultaneously conducted for both of the buried fabrics and soil samples so as to examine the biodegradation and environmental effect as a whole in the same study. Visual observations, weight losses, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to examine the biodegradation behaviour. The total organic carbon (TOC), the total number of bacteria and the total number of fungi in the soil samples were studied to understand the soil content during the degradation of the fibres. The study revealed that the cellulosic fabric samples changed both physically and chemically even after 1 month. Among the cellulosic fibres, weight losses of modal, cotton, and viscose fabrics were close to 90%, showing high degradation, whereas Tencel fibre had the lowest with 60% for a 4 month burial interval. Within the synthetic fabrics, only PLA fabric lost weight.

Emerging diseases such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, SARS, and most recently the Covid 19 epidemic have increased the importance of hygiene in the world, bringing the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) to the forefront. An important part of PPE in healthcare is surgical gowns, which are worn by doctors and nurses in the operating room to serve a dual function of preventing the transmission of microorganisms and body fluids from surgical staff to patients and from patients to staff. This chapter presents the history and importance of surgical gowns. The factors to be considered in the selection of surgical gowns are discussed. The model characteristics and fabric properties of surgical gowns currently on the market and the environmental impact of reusable and disposable gowns are outlined. Finally, shortcomings in available gowns are discussed, a new knitted surgical gown design is introduced, and recommendations are given in the final section. The chapter provides broad coverage of surgical gowns for both experienced readers and those new to the field.

No abstract