As the title implies, the chief goal of the present work is the improvement of the barrier effects of textile fabrics in the medical sector, in particular, in the operating room, which would be an effective safeguard against the causative pathogens allowing the health workers to work in and around hostile atmospheres and to accomplish useful tasks. To overcome the inherent drawbacks of surgical gown from classical fibers of both natural and synthetic origins, polyester micro filament fabric, down to 0.62 dtex per filament, was used to substitute them. Two major pathways have been chosen to render the surface hydrophobic: - Wet-chemical treatment - Plasma modification For the maximum efficiency of a specific wet-chemical, the following application formulations were found to be best effective: pH =4-5 Drying temperature and time=100°C / 90s Pick-up = 80% Curing temperature and time= 160°C / 120s A range of physical and chemical parameters have been found exerting significant influence on the extent of modification of the material: - Wetting agent - Amount of fluorine content in the chemical - Subsequent heat treatment of the finished material after washing - Ironing of the fabric For the plasma enhanced surface fluorination the following plasma gases were used: - Saturated fluorine compounds: CF4 and C2F6 - Reducing agent: H2 and C2H4 The exposure of the substrate to a pure C2F6 discharge resulted in higher hydrophobicity than the substrates exposed to CF4 plasma. Stepwise increased mixture of H2 or C2H4 to a proportionally decreased amount of C2F6 plasma showed a gradual decrease in contact angle and a substantial increase in sliding angle values. In addition to the treatments with gas mixtures a two-step technique, i.e., treatment with C2H4 prior to C2F6 plasma, was applied that appeared to be very promising in modifying the surface characteristics. Both, the contact angles and the sliding angles remaining almost constant on a very high level with increasing amount of C2H4 in the feed composition. An essentially vital concern of the work was the characterization of the treatment effect comprising both physical and chemical aspects. By washing the materials for 20 times no significant impairment of hydrophobic character has been noticed in case of fluorocarbon finishing agents as well as by the surface treated with C2H4 followed by C2F6 plasma (i.e., a two-step technique), wherein a complete loss of hydrophobic effect washing the silicone-treated materials for 10 times was observed. In breathability aspect, the plasma modification was found to be the best-suited technique with zero reduction of air permeability in comparison to wet-chemical finishing. The barrier test as a measure of dye absorption was conducted using protein solution, synthetic and human blood and the efficiency were verified by colorimetric technique. In contrast to pure plasma treatments, modification of the fabric with plasma in two-step treatment as well as with wet-finishing method using fluorocarbon compounds were completely impervious to artificial and real blood. The most striking feature was the zero uptake of the protein solution by all treated surfaces.

As the title implies, the chief goal of the present work is the improvement of the barrier effects of textile fabrics in the medical sector, in particular, in the operating room, which would be an effective safeguard against the causative pathogens allowing the health workers to work in and around hostile atmospheres and to accomplish useful tasks. To overcome the inherent drawbacks of surgical gown from classical fibers of both natural and synthetic origins, polyester micro filament fabric, down to 0.62 dtex per filament, was used to substitute them. Two major pathways have been chosen to render the surface hydrophobic: - Wet-chemical treatment - Plasma modification For the maximum efficiency of a specific wet-chemical, the following application formulations were found to be best effective: pH =4-5 Drying temperature and time=100°C / 90s Pick-up = 80% Curing temperature and time= 160°C / 120s A range of physical and chemical parameters have been found exerting significant influence on the extent of modification of the material: - Wetting agent - Amount of fluorine content in the chemical - Subsequent heat treatment of the finished material after washing - Ironing of the fabric For the plasma enhanced surface fluorination the following plasma gases were used: - Saturated fluorine compounds: CF4 and C2F6 - Reducing agent: H2 and C2H4 The exposure of the substrate to a pure C2F6 discharge resulted in higher hydrophobicity than the substrates exposed to CF4 plasma. Stepwise increased mixture of H2 or C2H4 to a proportionally decreased amount of C2F6 plasma showed a gradual decrease in contact angle and a substantial increase in sliding angle values. In addition to the treatments with gas mixtures a two-step technique, i.e., treatment with C2H4 prior to C2F6 plasma, was applied that appeared to be very promising in modifying the surface characteristics. Both, the contact angles and the sliding angles remaining almost constant on a very high level with increasing amount of C2H4 in the feed composition. An essentially vital concern of the work was the characterization of the treatment effect comprising both physical and chemical aspects. By washing the materials for 20 times no significant impairment of hydrophobic character has been noticed in case of fluorocarbon finishing agents as well as by the surface treated with C2H4 followed by C2F6 plasma (i.e., a two-step technique), wherein a complete loss of hydrophobic effect washing the silicone-treated materials for 10 times was observed. In breathability aspect, the plasma modification was found to be the best-suited technique with zero reduction of air permeability in comparison to wet-chemical finishing. The barrier test as a measure of dye absorption was conducted using protein solution, synthetic and human blood and the efficiency were verified by colorimetric technique. In contrast to pure plasma treatments, modification of the fabric with plasma in two-step treatment as well as with wet-finishing method using fluorocarbon compounds were completely impervious to artificial and real blood. The most striking feature was the zero uptake of the protein solution by all treated surfaces.