Coating of Polypropylene Non‐Woven Fabric with Layered Double Hydroxides Bearing Antioxidant and Antibacterial Natural Compounds

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) containing immobilized rosmarinic acid oreugenol have been employed to functionalize polypropylene (PP) non-wovenfabric (NWF), commonly used to manufacture protective clothing such assurgical masks. Rosmarinic acid and eugenol have recognized biologicalactivities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatorycapabilities, and they have been employed in this work both as synthetic,commercial compounds and as raw mixtures extracted from agri-foodmatrices. These encapsulated hybrid systems have been designed to graduallyrelease the active molecules while protecting them from degradationprocesses caused by light and heat. Two different NWF modificationstrategies have been employed to increase the adhesion capacity of thehybrids: cold plasma treatment with oxygen and polydopamine coating. Bothmethodologies have increased the amount of hybrid deposited on the NWFsurfaces, giving significant resistance to thermo-oxidation, the controlledmigratory capacity of active molecules, and, in the case of theeugenol-containing system, significant bactericidal activity againstStaphylococcus aureus