Creation of smart wearable textile-based drug delivery system with the use of hollow fibers for healthcare and medication

Abstract

Fiber technology has played an essential role in the textile industry for making life easier and more convenient. Numerous textile problems can hence be solved and different functions can be promoted. However, overcapacity of the industrial fibers has become a controversial issue due to the vigorous development of textiles and technology. Thus, the combination of traditional textile knowledge and innovated technology would be an upward trend for research and development. This is believed to solve the problems of overcapacity and to supplement creativity into industrialization in the meanwhile. This research is crucial to develop a wearable textile-based drug delivery system for the ease of life and healthcare, in terms of hollow fibers. With the hybridization of medicine and textile technology, a long-term wearable, applicable and transdermal drug delivery system with the advantages of precise and controllable rate is being developed. The system is implemented through loading compound drugs (either chemical or herbal medicines) into the hollow fibers which could be made for different types of fabrications such as by weaving, knitting, felting, laminating and embroidery. Subsequently, the release rate of drugs from the hollows would be further controlled or catalyzed with the application of the thermal-stimuli textile-based drug delivery system. As a result, healthcare and medication could be offered by this transdermal system after a series of instrumental and pre-clinical experiments. Hollow fiber is acknowledged to be a remarkable drug carrier for the system. It was found that the industrial hollow fibers and their fabrications had positive achievements towards drug loading and release. In accordance with the research findings, compound drugs, either in form of liquid or crystal solid, could be loaded inside the hollows of fibers by vacuum under negative pressure. Significant medical performances, which were the anti-bacteria and anti-breast cancer abilities, were achieved by the drug delivery approach from the antibiotic-loaded and anticancer drugs-loaded hollow fibers respectively. Different heating geometric distributions were observed by capturing the infra-red thermography of the combination of thermal e-fabric and drug delivery layers. The highest thermal energy level were given at the central spot while the heat energy decreased gradually at the quadrilateral and the peripheral areas. Higher significance in promoting the release of encapsulated drugs or liquid at higher temperature was resulted from both biological cell test and physical test of visible absorbance. No obvious burst release of liquid was found at the beginning stage of delivery. A self-care textile wearable for breast cancer post-surgical care and therapy (i.e. a bra for females and a sweatshirt / pullover for males) was designed. Staple hollow fibers - yarns with different twist levels and the woven fabrics with different constructions were prototyped. Hollow fibers were extracted from the yarns for further observation. Successful liquid loading and transportation was resulted from the extracted hollow fibers. This research has given a new way of thinking towards the excavation of novel ideas from traditional textile materials. It is believed to be a meaningful breakthrough of developing an environmentally-friendly, convenient, repeatable and wearable textile-based drug delivery system by using industrial hollow fibers. Public convenience for medication could be unfolded and the wastage resulted from over production could also be minimized by giving the traditional fibers a 'second life' with new medical function.