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The attrition and wear characteristics of woven cotton and cotton/polyester blend fabrics were substantially improved (relative to untreated and conventional durable press control fabrics) when they contained crosslinked polyethylene glycols. Nonwoven cellulosic (pulp)/polyester fabrics (normally used in biomedical clean room environments) also generated substantially fewer particles when they contained the crosslinked polyols. Attrition and particle measurements using previously described techniques indicated that nonwoven fabrics derived from treatment with PEG-1,000 had fewer particles released at higher RH (75%) than at lower RH (25%). Conversely, nonwoven fabrics derived from treatment with PEG-1,450 had fewer particles released at lower RH (20%) than at higher RH (75%). Reduced attrition and lint loss/particle generation of modified woven and nonwoven fabrics make them candidates for use in a variety of clean room environments.The unique thermal properties imparted to a variety of fabrics by crosslinked polyethylene glycol (CLPEG) was the initial focus of research in this area. Our earlier work demonstrated the reversible thermal storage and release properties of uncrosslinked polyethylene glycols [4,5,6] and CLPEG [7, 8] on a variety of fabrics differing in construction and fiber type. In the course of these studies, Vigo and Bruno discovered that cotton (and fabrics made of other fiber types and blends) containing CLPEG showed enhancement of several other important properties [8], including antistatic behavior, water absorbency, oily soil release, wrinkle recovery, resistance to pilling, and abrasion resistance.Lamb et al. [2] showed that the abrasion resistance of cotton fabrics decreased substantially when they were treated to impart durable press properties. Development of more abrasion resistant cotton or cellulosic blend fabrics along with improvement of other properties would thus be desirable. Moreover, reduced abrasion resistance of any fabric is usually accompanied by a sizeable increase in the number of particles of very small size (0.5 jAm or less). These small particles can be suspended in air long enough to be transported to places where they are liable to cause harm to persons in biomedical and hospital environments. A typical example is the lint from hospital gowns and drapes, which, if it finds its way into an open wound during an operation, can cause granulomas or other oomplications.This study deals with two aspects of fabric durability: the effects of bound CLPEG on the wear characteristics of cotton and 50/50 cotton/polyester blend fabrics, and examination of the number and sizes of particles generated by attrition of nonwoven pulp/polyester fabrics containing CLPEG. The term &dquo;attrition&dquo; is used here to denote the action of a fabric rubbed against another piece of the same fabric, in contrast to the rubbing of a fabric against an abrasive surface such as sandpaper, which is commonly called abrasion. Materials and MethodsThe following fabrics were used in the study: woven 100%...

A method has been developed for the controlled abrasion of fabrics and for the sampling and counting of the particles released during the process. The method may he used for the comparative evaluation of fabrics used in clean-room garments. In this paper, we compare particle release from fabrics likely to be worn

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