Tailoring Cotton Textile Properties With Hybrid, Janus, and Core–Shell Electrospun Waterborne Polyurethane/Polyethyleneimine Nanofibers: Investigating Hyaluronic Acid Functionalization for Enhanced Biocompatibility

ABSTRACT This study explores the development of innovative materials based on cotton fabric coated with nanofibers produced from waterborne polyurethane (WBPU) combined with both branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI) of different molar mass values (Mn 800, 1800, and 10,000) and linear polyethyleneimine (LPEI). The electrospinning technique was used to create and design these fibers into different morphological structures, such as a hybrid, Janus, and core–shell. The impact of PEI type and average molar mass on the physicochemical characteristics of the resulting materials was thoroughly investigated. While air permeability decreased with the incorporation of LPEI, which for barrier properties is essential, in areas also including protective textiles, BPEI‐included nanofibers also demonstrated increased air permeability. BPEI and LPEI‐included WBPU nanofibrous texture on the cotton fabrics displayed similar tensile strength (around 290 N) and elongation at break (%) values of approximately 15% and 10%, respectively. The subsequent surface modification through chemical doping of hyaluronic acid (HA) utilizing EDC/NHS constituents led to a notable change in surface wettability, shifting the materials from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, as demonstrated by contact angle measurements. The biocompatibility assessment through L929 fibroblast cells indicated that the HA‐modified hybrid materials are favorable for cell proliferation, achieving levels as high as 35%. The results show that this method enables the preparation of functional textiles with tunable air permeability, mechanical strength, wettability, and biocompatibility properties suitable for various applications such as wound dressings, filtration membranes, and bioactive apparel by changing the morphology of cotton fabric through controlled electrospinning of WBPU and PEI.