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AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsLiang Chen, Lev E. Bromberg, Trevor Alan Hatton, Gregory C. Rutledge
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Described is the application of layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic assembly techniques to electrospun nanofibers in order to fabricate novel, breathable electrospun fiber-based chemical and biological detoxifying protective fabrics and filters. The combination of layer-by-layer electrostatic assembly and electrospinning technique allows one to take advantage of high specific surface area, light weight and breathability of electrospun fiber mats while simultaneously providing the versatility to incorporate different functional polyelectrolytes to achieve multifunctional coatings for both chemical and biological protection together. The functionalized fiber mats can be incorporated into breathable chemical and biological protective fabrics, filters and masks. In addition, LbL electrostatic coating of porous non-woven materials provides the versatility to generate multifunctional polymer-based membrane materials for other applications.
A membrane comprising a plurality of polymer-coated electroprocessed nanofibers, wherein said polymer coating comprises at least one polyelectrolyte bilayer, said bilayer comprises a plurality of polycations in a polycationic layer and a plurality of polyanions in a polyanionic layer, at least one of said polycations is antimicrobial, at least one of said polyanions is esterolytic toward phosphate esters, and said membrane is both antimicrobial and esterolytic.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.