1. Smart Fabrics – Medical/ Fire retardant/Self Cleaning/UV Protection, 12th FYP Project (CSC 0134)
a) Highly Conductive Nano-Silver Textile for Sensing Hydrogen Peroxide
A promising field of research is developing on flexible conducting textiles. There are many multifunctional applications, such asin wearable electronics, health monitoring, military, or as electrode surfaces in energy conversion and storage systems (supercapacitors, battery and fuel cells). Silver nanoparticle embedded-viscose fabricsproduced by an electrolesscoating method have been demonstratedto givea resistance of 0.26 Ω cm-1. A glassy carbon electrode with nano-Ag textile disc attached (GCE-Ag NPs)exhibits a selective electro catalytic response towards H2O2evenin the presence of interferences like ascorbic acid, uric acid, nitrate, dopamine, and glucose.The modified electrode has shown a sensitivity of 35.97 µA/mM for hydrogen peroxide, with a detection limit of 13 µM across a wide linear range of 20 µM to 33 mMH2O2. The effects of the fabric morphological changes after sensing of peroxidewas furtherinvestigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and water contact angle studies.
b) Diabetic Wound Healing Dressing
Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) is one of the complications of Diabetes mellitus, which, if left untreated can lead to amputation or even death. If proper wound care is administered in the initial stages of the wound, further complications can be avoided. Hence, we have developed a wound healing dressing using biopolymers.
Chitosan(as active material) coated Lyocell, is the wicking layer which will be in direct contact with the wound and Pectin acts as a absorbant layer (DFUs are highly exuding wounds). All three biopolymers are biocompatible and biodegradable. Scratch assay test conducted on L929 Mouse fibroblast cells have shown that, the thus prepared dressing shows positive healing response. Animal trials for further validation are underway.
2. Silica/Alumina encapsulated fluoropolymers as a Core-Shell Nanostructure for Superhydrophobic Fabrics, DST Project, Rs. 26.50 Lakhs (GAP 08/13)
a) Textile Drug Delivery: Electrochemically Driven Solubilisation and Controlled Release for Wound and Anti-Cancer Applications
Existing drug delivery methods are commonly based on stabilising or solubilising agents which may affect the efficacy of drug therapy. Here, we have successfully demonstrated a novel in-situ solubilisation and drug delivery method based on an electrochemically driven process that produces a soluble form of the drug to be delivered through skin or into a wound. The driving aluminium electrodes are integrated into the textile to locally create basic conditions that solubilise and deliver the curcumin drug to skin or wound. Natural curcumin is investigated here as a model case for applications including anticancer (tested for HeLa cell lines) and anti-bacterial (tested forS. aureus and K. pneumonia). This new methodology can deliver drug with electrochemical stimulation or precisely controlled rate of release over a longer period of time. Excellent results were obtained with a simple low-cost device concept.
3) Metal-Organic Redox Frameworks (MOFs) for Photochemical Textile Processes (UGC-UKEIRI Project)
a) Redox reactivity at silver microparticle—glassy carbon contacts under a coating of polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM)
Silver microparticles (ca. 1 μm average size clustered into cage-like aggregates of 10–20 μm diameter) are shown to adhere to a glassy carbon electrode surface to give voltammetric current responses, which are considerably enhanced/stabilised when applying a coating with a molecularly rigid polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-EA-TB). In preliminary voltammetric experiments characteristic Ag(0/I) surface oxidation and back-reduction processes are observed in aqueous phosphate buffer (associated with silver phosphate layer formation on the silver surface). In contrast to the oxidation, which is dominated by a nucleation process causing a sharp well-defined current signal, for the back-reduction stochastic current responses are observed possibly associated with density fluctuations in the surrounding liquid phase (“Brownian activation”) as an essential part of the mechanism of conversion of surface-oxidised silver back to silver metal.
Other Research Works:
a) Highly efficient, large surface area and spherically shaped Pt particles deposited electrolytically synthesized graphene for methanol oxidation with impedance spectroscopy
Graphene was synthesized via electrochemical exfoliation techniqueof graphite rod in Poly (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) solution. Laser Raman and X-ray Diffraction Spectroscopies were used to confirmthedefects and crystal nature of graphene.The