Evaluating the effectiveness of coating knitted fabrics with silica nanoparticles for protection from needle-stick injuries

The main purpose of this work is to investigate the penetration properties of knitted fabrics coated with silica nanoparticles to make protective gloves. Silica nanoparticles are well-known and useful for several applications. Hence, in the environment where glove material is exposed to harmful chemicals, hazards related to faster penetration of dangerous substances into the glove interior may cause needle-stick injuries and micro damage. One of the solutions to overcome this problem is to use knitted fabrics coated with acrylic pastes containing silica nanoparticles (average size 20 nm in diameter). To study the effectiveness of developed gloves for protection against needle-stick injuries, overall knitted fabrics with a similar structure (interlock) and differentiated raw material composition were selected: polyamide 6-6/elastane and polyester. Evaluation of the needle-stick injuries process of the coated plated knits based on silica nanoparticles was performed. For this purpose, the assessment of the surface morphology of materials has been examined before and after the dexterity and penetration process. The studied composite samples showed an increased resistance to hypodermic needle penetration as the nano-silica particles content and the coating layers increase. Coated knitted fabrics allowed us to obtain promising results in terms of fabric stiffness. However, the manual coating application explained the observed imperfections.