MT432/TT532

Fall 2015
EVALUATION OF BIOTEXTILES

Laboratory 2 Measuring Resistance to Blood Penetration

References: 1. Belkin N.L., False Faith in the Surgeons Gown Revisited, Bull. Amer.
Coll. Surgeons, Vol.90, No.4, April 2005, pp.19-23,56.
2. McCullough EA and LK Schoenberger, Liquid barrier properties of nine
surgical gown fabrics, INDA Journal of Nonwovens Research, Vol.3,
No.3, Summer 1991, pp.14-20.
3. Barker RL, BJ Scruggs and I Shalev, Evaluating operating room
gowns: comparing comfort of nonwoven and woven materials ,
International Nonwoven Journal, Vol.9, No.1, Spring 2000, pp.23-27.
4. Standard Test Method F 1670-03, Resistance of Materials Used in
Protective Clothing to Penetration by Synthetic Blood. Annual Book of
ASTM Standards, Vol. 11.03, ASTM International, West Conshohocken,
PA, 2003.
5. Internet site: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/610276453/
Reusable_Surgical_Gown.html
6. Internet site : http://www.molnlycke.com/BARRIER-Surgical-GownCLASSIC.aspx
7. Internet site: http://www.sontara.com
8. Internet site: http://inveniohealthcare.com/index.php
Student
Learning
Outcomes:

1. You will learn how to perform a standard laboratory test method that
measures the resistance of protective textile materials to synthetic blood.
2. You will prepare a short written report describing the method followed,
the materials tested and the observed results.
3. You will gain an appreciation of the specific characteristics of protective
fabrics that provide blood penetration resistance, by explaining your
findings in the light of the constructional features of the different textile
fabrics tested.

Introduction: Healthcare workers involved in the treatment and care of injured and sick
patients are routinely exposed to biological fluids that can pose a threat of
a transmitted disease such as hepatitis and AIDS. In order to control the
transmission of such blood-borne pathogens it is necessary to avoid direct

-2skin contact with blood and other biological liquids. The test method
described here attempts to measure the ability of protective apparel
fabrics to resist penetration of synthetic blood when exposed to
continuous liquid contact. The pass/fail assessment is based on visual
detection of synthetic blood passing from the face (or exposed) side of the
fabric to the back (inside) surface.
During this experiment you will test three different types of protective
fabrics that are used in the construction of operating room gowns and
scrubs. You are asked to assess the ability of these three fabrics to
provide protection against blood penetration, and to explain their relative
performance on the basis of their different constructional features.
Specifically you are being asked to find answers to the following two
questions:

Samples
Tested:

i)

Which of the three fabric samples passes the standard resistance

to synthetic blood penetration test method?

ii)

Explain your findings by identifying those features of the fabrics

that enhance their resistance to blood penetration and those that
reduce it.

The following three fabric samples are included in the comparative testing
protocol. The fabric samples are taken from commercial surgical gowns.
1) Fabric A Dark green: Reusable fabric woven from 100% carded cotton
yarns in a 1/1 balanced plain weave. It was dyed dark green and supplied
to Ningbo Tianjin International Trading Company in Zhejiang, China who
assembled the operating room gown. It is designed to withstand at least
50 laundering, drying and ironing cycles. The nominal thickness is 0.36
mm, and the fabric weight is 178.9 g/m2.
2. Fabric B Light green: This single use nonwoven gown supplied by
Molnlycke Healthcare has been constructed from Sontara fabric
manufactured by the DuPont Company. This spunlaced hydroentangled
fabric contains woodpulp cellulosic fibers and polyester staple fibers. It
has a water repellent finish. The nominal thickness is 0.28 mm, and the
fabric weight is 72.1 g/m2.
3) Fabric C Light blue: This partially two ply laminated gown has been
fabricated and distributed by Invenio Healthcare of Alpharetta, GA. It
contains a two-ply reinforced layer across the front and around the wrists
and lower sleeves. The outer layer has been fabricated from a 100%
polypropylene microporous nonwoven spunbond web. The inner layer
consists of a 100% polyethylene film that provides superior fluid
penetration in the two ply regions. These two layers are thermally bonded
together. The nominal thickness is 0.70 mm, and the fabric weight is
101.4 g/m2.

-3Test
Method:

You are expected to follow the ASTM Standard Laboratory Test Method
F 1670-03 as closely as possible. Any deviations from the standard
Method should be reported in your laboratory report. Prior to testing, the
samples have been conditioned for the required amount of time in a
standard atmosphere of temperature at 70 + 2 degrees F and relative
humidity of 65 + 1 %.

Lab Report: Your report should be two to three pages in length with additional pages
for the tables of results as required. It should be written in the third
person, using a style of English suitable for a technical report, and include
the following components.
Title:

The title should be short and describe the nature of the experiment.

Author:

Include your name and student ID number.

Date:

Include the date when the report was written, not when the tests were
performed.

Executive
Summary:

This should describe the whole experiment in about 3-4 sentences, and
should include a statement of the problem or question, the approach
taken to solve it, the conclusions and recommendations. This is the most
difficult part to write, and I recommend that you write it last when you have
finished the rest of the report. Remember, this one paragraph needs to
be able to stand alone and reflect the whole experiment, even if it were
the only part of the report to be read. This inevitably means that it will
repeat certain ideas, concepts and passages contained in the full report.

Introduction: This section describes the issues or the context that has caused the need
for the testing. In brief, this section should answer the question Why
test?
Objective:

This section describes the objectives or goals of the testing program, and
should clearly state what outcome you expect to achieve by performing
certain tests. It is most important to get this section as clear as possible
in terms of the samples to be included and the properties being
measured.

Materials:

All the samples being tested should be listed by name and by some exact
identity. You should therefore include a style number, merge or model
number, and/or date of manufacture so that there is no doubt as to the
origin of the samples. You may also need to explain the sampling method
used to obtain the laboratory sample if it has been derived from a range of
sources or units of production.

Methods:

Here you need to list the name and number of the standard test method,
the name and model number of the equipment used, the test conditions, if
there is an option (e.g. Procedure A or B), and the conditioning procedure
for the samples that you have followed. If you deviate in any way from the
standard method, such as changing the number of observations, then you

-4must indicate such deviations in this Methods Section. Also include any
statistical tests that you have followed to analyze the data including any
assumptions (e.g. alpha values) that you have made.
Results:

Create a summary table or figure or both to display the important

descriptive statistics that you have measured or calculated. For example
it is usual to include a table of average values and standard deviations
and/or standard errors. If you plan to plot the results, then be sure to
identify the axes and the units of measurement on each, and indicate the
function used to generate the error bars. All tables and figures must be
numbered and have descriptive titles. Then the Results Section can
describe the results from your statistical analysis by referring to the tables
and/or figures by number, which will be included in the appendix.

Discussion:

In this section you identify similarities and differences between data sets,
and explain the meaning of the results and attempt to explain why
differences, similarities and/or relationships have been found. Refer to
specific data presented in the Results Section by table and figure number.

Conclusion:

To write this section you refer back to the Objectives Section, and
comment briefly on the outcome of each of the objectives. If any objective
has not been met, then explain why.

Recommendations: Here you state briefly any recommendations that flow from this
experiment. If there are no recommendations, then this section may be
omitted.
Due date:

The assignment is due at the beginning of the next laboratory period, i.e.
in one week's time on Monday September 21st 2015.

Value:

The mark from this assignment can contribute up to 5% of your final

grade.

Thanks:

I wish to extend my appreciation to Dr. Bryan Ormond, Manager of the

Chemical Protection Laboratory, Room 3339, who will demonstrate this
test method, and to Dr. Roger Barker, Director of the Textile Protection
and Comfort Center (T-PACC), for making his facilities available to us.

MWK/mwk/150911