Impact of washing and sterilization on properties of fabrics used for medical applications

Abstract

This paper reports a study on the characterization of cellulosic, polyester/cotton (PES/cotton) and Tencel fabrics as well as PES/PU/PES laminate used for medical applications, before and after frequent washing and sterilization. The impact of washing and sterilization is analysed by tensile properties, spectral changes and surface characterization. The results indicate that, during washing and sterilization, cellulosic fabrics show prominent changes of all studied properties when compared to PES/PU/PES laminate.