Tunable Antibacterial Activity of a Polypropylene Fabric Coated with Bristling Ti3C2Tx MXene Flakes Coupling the Nanoblade Effect with ROS Generation

Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic polymer widely used as a medical textile in healthcare applications due to its low cost and superior performance. However, it does not show antibacterial properties leading to the possibility of pathogen transmission. Herein, we have developed an antibacterial medical fabric by facile self-assembly of delaminated two-dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Tx MXene flakes bristling on the surface of PP fibers. The increasing amount of MXene in the coating solution from 1 up to 32 mg/mL allowed for edge-on assembly of MXene flakes on the PP surface and tracking the evolution of the band gap for a restacked structure. Characterization of the PP/Ti3C2Tx nanocomposite has proven that it exhibited highly effective antibacterial, robust coating, and chemically/thermally stable properties. The in vitro microbiological studies against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus have shown that PP/Ti3C2Tx reduced the bacterial viability up to 100%, as driven by synergistic membrane stress mediated by physical contact and light-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Moreover, the use of l-ascorbic acid for MXene stabilization allowed for achieving excellent thermal stability of the PP/Ti3C2Tx nanocomposite upon accelerated thermal aging. Collectively, this work provides a facile surface engineering strategy for designing medical fabrics with outstanding functional performances. By demonstrating the exceptional performance of the stabilized MXene in a self-assembly nanocomposite structure, we are opening the door for MXenes to be applied in other biomedical fields.