An integrated design of self-care textile wearables: exploration of thermal-stimuli effects and drug delivery function

Fiber technology has become increasingly essential in various industries, such as the fashion clothing, medical, cosmetic and upholstery industries. It can be used to overcome some existing challenges of textile–skin interaction in response to medical functions. This research aims to study the thermal-stimuli effects and biological performances of drug delivery textiles so as to develop a personal self-care textile that is wearable for a wide range of adaptive medical treatments. The proposed study is interdisciplinary and focuses on the following: (1) developing a long-term continuous self-care drug delivery textile wearable for patients by using different textile materials and structure layering; (2) examining the loading capability of synthetic staple crimped hollow fibers in the assembly of the non-woven structure; (3) comparing the drug loading performance between direct infiltration with magnetic stirring and vacuum loading; (4) observing the thermal distribution of the thermal-stimuli drug delivery textile layers. Designing a specially made textile wearable for breast cancer patients (i.e. a bra for females and a sweatshirt/pullover for males) is a conceptual example of the proposed self-care textile wearable. Silver-coated conductive yarns were fabricated into hollow fiber-based non-woven fabrics for thermal stimulation. Significant drug delivery through the non-wovens was shown by the anti-breast cancer analysis. Drugs in different phases, liquid and crystal solid, could be carried by the lumens of the hollow fibers. If the proposed study is successfully commercialized, it will be a great technological breakthrough in preparing a future generation of drug delivery medical textiles. A variety of medical applications can hence be provided and it could also be an alternative for topical healthcare.