Authors: Fatemeh Shahmoradi Ghaheh, Akbar Khoddami, Farzaneh Alihosseini, Jing Su
The use of textiles is common and transversal to all humans. Several types of textiles are used in different situations in life; we all use textiles, both during day life (clothing) and during the night (bed linens). These textiles are designed to have specific functions, namely protection, warmth, and support. Innovative methodologies have been established for the development of biological textiles with extra properties including breathability; texture; antimicrobial, and cosmetic properties. Cosmetotextiles are examples of high-performance textiles representing a fusion of fabric materials with cosmetic active substances. The cosmetic substances are attached to the fabrics, and when they meet the human body and skin, they are transferred from the textile to the skin to reach the specific target. Despite not being accepted as cosmetic products, they are able to impart skincare benefits, fighting ageing, and promote wellness and pleasant feelings. Current cosmetotextiles in the market claim to be moisturizing, cellulite reducing, perfumed, body slimming, energizing, rejuvenating, refreshing, improving the firmness and elasticity of skin, or reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin E (also known as ?-tocopherol) is a very antioxidant agent, recognized to shut out hazardous oxygen and applied on textiles for anti-ageing purposes. Microencapsulated vitamin E significantly increases the skin moisture and elasticity, thereby reducing the skin wrinkles and roughness. Despite having numerous advantages, its direct application into textiles is hindered by its low stability to heat and oxygen. Microencapsulation has been devoted as the main technique for the incorporation of active substances into the textiles. It can be achieved by an array of methods in which the release of the active ingredient from the microcapsules occurs following heat, biodegradation, friction, or pressure between the body and fabric during use, breaking the capsules into fragments and releasing the encapsulated active ingredients. Liposomes and polymeric and protein-based nanodevices have been successfully applied as vehicles to entrap and deliver vitamin E. However, vitamin E incorporation into the lipid bilayer of liposomes or inside nanoparticles core is hindered by its lipophilicity and high molecular mass. We recently demonstrated that protein-based nano emulsions can be successfully used for the encapsulation of this lipophilic product. Protein nano emulsions are dispersed in an aqueous medium where the protein remains at the interface covering the oil containing ?-tocopherol. The lipophilic nature of ?-tocopherol ensures that all the initial content introduced is totally encapsulated. The main goal of this work was to develop cosmetotextiles with high-performance properties, namely antioxidant and skin moisture properties. The innovation behind this research is the development of a methodology that allows predicting further transfer behavior of the active substances to other substrates such as textiles and skin. Protein based nanoparticles composed of bovine serum albumin (BSA)/silk fibroin (SF) were previously developed and produced by oil-in-water methodology. Knitted cotton fabrics were coated with the previously developed oil-in-water nanoparticles containing vitamin E by the pad cure method. The effectiveness and durability of the antioxidant properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm the presence and morphology of the nanoparticles. The durability and transfer ability of the nanoparticles to other supports were assayed by washing and rubbing fastness, respectively. The antioxidant efficiency of vitamin E of coated samples was evaluated by the ABTS-scavenging methodology.
