Fabricating bio-based medical textiles with antimicrobial protection

Susan Kunnas; Jenni Tienaho; Petri Kilpeläinen; Marjo Haapakoski; Anni Perämäki; Qi Nie; Zonghong Lu; Jaana Huotari; Satu Salo; Mari Nurmi; Martti Toivakka; Chunlin Xu; Ann E. Hagerman; Varpu Marjomäki; Tuula Jyske

doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2026.115895

Fabricating bio-based medical textiles with antimicrobial protection

Susan Kunnas^*
, Jenni Tienaho
, Petri Kilpeläinen
, Marjo Haapakoski
, Anni Perämäki
, Qi Nie
, Zonghong Lu
, Jaana Huotari
, Satu Salo
, Mari Nurmi
, Martti Toivakka
, Chunlin Xu
, Ann E. Hagerman
, Varpu Marjomäki
, Tuula Jyske

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA5307 Process microbiology and food safety

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
University of Jyväskylä
Åbo Akademi University
University of Miami
University of Helsinki

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Polyphenol-rich Norway spruce bark extract, a side-stream from the forest industry, is used to create antimicrobial fiber materials for biomedical applications. Lyocell, viscose, and blend non-wovens are coated with the bark extract and commercial tannic acid (TA), which serves as a reference, using three different methods: impregnation, spray coating, and draw-down coating. The antimicrobial efficacy of the coated materials is assessed against a Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and a Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bacteria. Antiviral activity is tested against an enveloped coronavirus (HCoV-OC43) and a non-enveloped Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). The bark extract demonstrates strong antimicrobial activity, with the best results achieved on viscose and blended materials using draw-down or impregnation methods. Overall, draw-down coating provides the best performance regarding both antimicrobial and surface properties. Compared to tannic acid, the bark extract is markedly more effective against viruses, an effect attributed to its complex polyphenolic structure.

Original language	English
Article number	115895
Journal	Materials and Design
Volume	265
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2026.115895
Publication status	Published - May 2026
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This work was supported by the Business Finland Co-Creation and Co-Innovation fundings (Antiviral Fibers, decision no. 40699/31/2020, and BIOPROT, decision no. 4403/31/2021). Additionally, the study was financially supported by Research Council of Finland (#342250 & #342251) and Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (#240002).

Keywords

Antibacterial
Antiviral
Bark extract
Cellulosic fibers
Coating
Tannic acid

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10.1016/j.matdes.2026.115895Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Fabricating bio-based medical textiles with antimicrobial protection",

abstract = "Polyphenol-rich Norway spruce bark extract, a side-stream from the forest industry, is used to create antimicrobial fiber materials for biomedical applications. Lyocell, viscose, and blend non-wovens are coated with the bark extract and commercial tannic acid (TA), which serves as a reference, using three different methods: impregnation, spray coating, and draw-down coating. The antimicrobial efficacy of the coated materials is assessed against a Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and a Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bacteria. Antiviral activity is tested against an enveloped coronavirus (HCoV-OC43) and a non-enveloped Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). The bark extract demonstrates strong antimicrobial activity, with the best results achieved on viscose and blended materials using draw-down or impregnation methods. Overall, draw-down coating provides the best performance regarding both antimicrobial and surface properties. Compared to tannic acid, the bark extract is markedly more effective against viruses, an effect attributed to its complex polyphenolic structure.",

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doi = "10.1016/j.matdes.2026.115895",

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AU - Kunnas, Susan

AU - Tienaho, Jenni

AU - Kilpeläinen, Petri

AU - Haapakoski, Marjo

AU - Perämäki, Anni

AU - Nie, Qi

AU - Lu, Zonghong

AU - Huotari, Jaana

AU - Salo, Satu

AU - Nurmi, Mari

AU - Toivakka, Martti

AU - Xu, Chunlin

AU - Hagerman, Ann E.

AU - Marjomäki, Varpu

AU - Jyske, Tuula

PY - 2026/5

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N2 - Polyphenol-rich Norway spruce bark extract, a side-stream from the forest industry, is used to create antimicrobial fiber materials for biomedical applications. Lyocell, viscose, and blend non-wovens are coated with the bark extract and commercial tannic acid (TA), which serves as a reference, using three different methods: impregnation, spray coating, and draw-down coating. The antimicrobial efficacy of the coated materials is assessed against a Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and a Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bacteria. Antiviral activity is tested against an enveloped coronavirus (HCoV-OC43) and a non-enveloped Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). The bark extract demonstrates strong antimicrobial activity, with the best results achieved on viscose and blended materials using draw-down or impregnation methods. Overall, draw-down coating provides the best performance regarding both antimicrobial and surface properties. Compared to tannic acid, the bark extract is markedly more effective against viruses, an effect attributed to its complex polyphenolic structure.

AB - Polyphenol-rich Norway spruce bark extract, a side-stream from the forest industry, is used to create antimicrobial fiber materials for biomedical applications. Lyocell, viscose, and blend non-wovens are coated with the bark extract and commercial tannic acid (TA), which serves as a reference, using three different methods: impregnation, spray coating, and draw-down coating. The antimicrobial efficacy of the coated materials is assessed against a Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and a Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bacteria. Antiviral activity is tested against an enveloped coronavirus (HCoV-OC43) and a non-enveloped Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). The bark extract demonstrates strong antimicrobial activity, with the best results achieved on viscose and blended materials using draw-down or impregnation methods. Overall, draw-down coating provides the best performance regarding both antimicrobial and surface properties. Compared to tannic acid, the bark extract is markedly more effective against viruses, an effect attributed to its complex polyphenolic structure.

KW - Antibacterial

KW - Antiviral

KW - Bark extract

KW - Cellulosic fibers

KW - Coating

KW - Tannic acid

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ER -

Fabricating bio-based medical textiles with antimicrobial protection

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

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BIOPROT: Development bio-based and biodegradable non-woven materials for protective equipment

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Fabricating bio-based medical textiles with antimicrobial protection

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

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Projects

BIOPROT: Development bio-based and biodegradable non-woven materials for protective equipment

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