Upscaling of Electrospinning Technology and the Application of Functionalized PVDF-HFP@TiO2 Electrospun Nanofibers for the Rapid Photocatalytic Deactivation of Bacteria on Advanced Face Masks

Adriano Cimini; Alessia Borgioni; Elena Passarini; Chiara Mancini; Anacleto Proietti; Luca Buccini; Eleonora Stornelli; Emily Schifano; Simone Dinarelli; Francesco Mura; Claudia Sergi; Irene Bavasso; Barbara Cortese; Daniele Passeri; Enrico Imperi; Teresa Rinaldi; Alfredo Picano; Marco Rossi

doi:10.3390/polym15234586

Upscaling of Electrospinning Technology and the Application of Functionalized PVDF-HFP@TiO₂ Electrospun Nanofibers for the Rapid Photocatalytic Deactivation of Bacteria on Advanced Face Masks

Polymers (Basel). 2023 Nov 30;15(23):4586. doi: 10.3390/polym15234586.

Authors

Adriano Cimini^{1

2}, Alessia Borgioni³, Elena Passarini³, Chiara Mancini¹, Anacleto Proietti¹, Luca Buccini¹, Eleonora Stornelli¹, Emily Schifano³, Simone Dinarelli⁴, Francesco Mura^{1

5}, Claudia Sergi⁶, Irene Bavasso⁶, Barbara Cortese⁷, Daniele Passeri^{1

5}, Enrico Imperi², Teresa Rinaldi³, Alfredo Picano⁸, Marco Rossi^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via A. Scarpa 16, 00161 Rome, Italy.
² Industrial Research Laboratory, LABOR s.r.l., Via Giacomo Peroni 386, 00131 Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁴ Institute for the Structure of Matter (ISM), National Research Council (CNR), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy.
⁵ Research Center for Nanotechnology for Engineering of Sapienza (CNIS), Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering Materials Environment, Sapienza University of Rome & UdR INSTM, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy.
⁷ National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Nanotechnology (CNR Nanotec), c/o Edificio Fermi, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
⁸ National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (CNR-IMM), Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.

Abstract

In recent years, Electrospinning (ES) has been revealed to be a straightforward and innovative approach to manufacture functionalized nanofiber-based membranes with high filtering performance against fine Particulate Matter (PM) and proper bioactive properties. These qualities are useful for tackling current issues from bacterial contamination on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) surfaces to the reusability of both disposable single-use face masks and respirator filters. Despite the fact that the conventional ES process can be upscaled to promote a high-rate nanofiber production, the number of research works on the design of hybrid materials embedded in electrospun membranes for face mask application is still low and has mainly been carried out at the laboratory scale. In this work, a multi-needle ES was employed in a continuous processing for the manufacturing of both pristine Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride-co-Hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) nanofibers and functionalized membrane ones embedded with TiO₂ Nanoparticles (NPs) (PVDF-HFP@TiO₂). The nanofibers were collected on Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) nonwoven spunbond fabric and characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), Raman spectroscopy, and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis. The photocatalytic study performed on the electrospun membranes proved that the PVDF-HFP@TiO₂ nanofibers provide a significant antibacterial activity for both Staphylococcus aureus (~94%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (~85%), after only 5 min of exposure to a UV-A light source. In addition, the PVDF-HFP@TiO₂ nanofibers exhibit high filtration efficiency against submicron particles (~99%) and a low pressure drop (~3 mbar), in accordance with the standard required for Filtering Face Piece masks (FFPs). Therefore, these results aim to provide a real perspective on producing electrospun polymer-based nanotextiles with self-sterilizing properties for the implementation of advanced face masks on a large scale.

Keywords: Electrospinning; antimicrobial air filter; electrospun; nanofibers; personal protective equipment; photocatalytic antibacterial activity.

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by Sapienza University of Rome through the grant Progetti di Ricerca 2020 (project: STAGES, protocol number RM120172B479E2E8).