Functional design of traditional hollow fibers : opening up a second life of being a medical drug delivery carrier

Abstract

Fiber technology has stepped into an essential position in the textile industry. It is forecasted that smart textiles will keep on developing constantly and vigorously. Having a convenient drug delivery system for treating various illnesses and bacterial infections is always in demand. Hollow fibers, which consist of a hollow structure and exceptional characteristics, such as high loading capacity and high surface reactivity, have been considerably used in medical equipment. A pilot study was performed in this paper for opening up environmentally friendly, convenient and repeatable drug delivery functions of industrial, ready-made hollow fibers for sustainable development in various aspects. The hollow fiber drug delivery system of this project is believed to tackle the challenges observed from the traditional drug delivery system, which include the following: (1) replacement of one-time delivery by repeatable drug loading and releasing; (2) loading complex drugs, such as in Chinese medicine; (3) using common materials available in the current textile market. Nylon 6 hollow fiber was the main subject of the pilot study. Its drug loading capability was investigated with the application of woven fabrics via the process of simple and direct drug loading under negative pressure (i.e. vacuum). The antibacterial performance of the drug-loaded fabrics and the drug release kinetics of the hollow fibers were examined.