Advancement of Nonwoven Fabrics in Personal Protective Equipment.

While nonwoven fabrics have existed for several decades, their usage in personal protective equipment (PPE) has been met with a rapid surge of demands, in part due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This review aims to critically examine the current state of nonwoven PPE fabrics by exploring (i) the material constituents and processing steps to produce fibers and bond them, and (ii) how each fabric layer is integrated into a textile, and how the assembled textiles are used as PPE. Firstly, filament fibers are manufactured via dry, wet, and polymer-laid fiber spinning methods. Then the fibers are bonded via chemical, thermal, and mechanical means. Emergent nonwoven processes such as electrospinning and centrifugal spinning to produce unique ultrafine nanofibers are discussed. Nonwoven PPE applications are categorized as filters, medical usage, and protective garments. The role of each nonwoven layer, its role, and textile integration are discussed. Finally, the challenges stemming from the single-use nature of nonwoven PPEs are discussed, especially in the context of growing concerns over sustainability. Then, emerging solutions to address sustainability issues with material and processing innovations are explored.

Sensing and 3D printing technologies in personalized healthcare for the management of health crises including the COVID-19 outbreak.

A major threat that has surrounded human civilization since the beginning of the year 2020 is the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and significantly affected populations globally, causing medical and economic despair. Healthcare chains across the globe have been under grave stress owing to shortages of medical equipments necessary to address a pandemic. Furthermore, personal protective equipment supplies, mandatory for healthcare staff for treating severely ill patients, have been in short supply. To address the necessary requisites during the pandemic, several researchers, hospitals, and industries collaborated to meet the demand for these medical equipments in an economically viable manner. In this context, 3D printing technologies have provided enormous potential in creating personalized healthcare equipment, including face masks, face shields, rapid detection kits, testing swabs, biosensors, and various ventilator components. This has been made possible by capitalizing on centralized large-scale manufacturing using 3D printing and local distribution of verified and tested computer-aided design files. The primary focus of this study is, "How 3D printing is helpful in developing these equipments, and how it can be helpful in the development and deployment of various sensing and point-of-care-testing (POCTs) devices for the commercialization?" Further, the present study also takes care of patient safety by implementing novel 3D printed health equipment used for COVID-19 patients. Moreover, the study helps identify and highlight the efforts made by various organizations toward the usage of 3D printing technologies, which are helpful in combating the ongoing pandemic.