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In the field of pharmaceutical technology, significant attention has been paid on exploiting skin as a drug administration route. Considering the structural and chemical complexity of the skin barrier, many research works focused on developing an innovative way to enhance skin drug permeation. In this context, a new class of materials called bio-functional textiles has been developed. Such materials consist of the combination of advanced pharmaceutical carriers with textile materials. Therefore, they own the possibility of providing a wearable platform for continuous and controlled drug release. Notwithstanding the great potential of these materials, their large-scale application still faces some challenges. The present review provides a state-of-the-art perspective on the bio-functional textile technology analyzing the several issues involved. Firstly, the skin physiology, together with the dermatological delivery strategy, is keenly described in order to provide an overview of the problems tackled by bio-functional textiles technology. Secondly, an overview of the main dermatological nanocarriers is provided; thereafter the application of these nanomaterial to textiles is presented. Finally, the bio-functional textile technology is framed in the context of the different dermatological administration strategies; a comparative analysis that also considers how pharmaceutical regulation is conducted.

In recent years, the textile industry has been moving to novel concepts of products, which could deliver to the user, improved performances. Such smart textiles have been proven to have the potential to integrate within a commodity garment advanced feature and functional properties of different kinds. Among those functionalities, considerable interest has been played in functionalizing commodity garments in order to make them positively interact with the human body and therefore being beneficial to the user health. This kind of functionalization generally exploits biopolymers, a class of materials that possess peculiar properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability that make them suitable for bio-functional textile production. In the context of biopolymer chitosan has been proved to be an excellent potential candidate for this kind of application given its abundant availability and its chemical properties that it positively interacts with biological tissue. Notwithstanding the high potential of chitosan-based technologies in the textile sectors, several issues limit the large-scale production of such innovative garments. In facts the morphologies of chitosan structures should be optimized in order to make them better exploit the biological activity; moreover a suitable process for the application of chitosan structures to the textile must be designed. The application process should indeed not only allow an effective and durable fixation of chitosan to textile but also comply with environmental rules concerning pollution emission and utilization of harmful substances.

The textile industry has recently been developing innovative products that integrate functional properties within commodity textiles. In particular, research has focussed on the concept of biofunctional textiles, i.e., textile materials possessing beneficial properties for human health. Biofunctional textiles are synthesised by functionalization of fabric surfaces with biopolymers. As an example, the chitosan biopolymer is promising for textile functionalization due to chitosan availability, low cost, safety and unique properties. Yet several challenges have to be overcome. Firstly, the morphology of chitosan must be optimized prior chitosan application to the textile surface. Secondly, the last treatment must be carefully designed in order to achieve an effective and durable functionalization. Lastly, the overall production process must comply with environmental rules concerning pollution emission and utilization of harmful substances. This review describes microencapsulation as a strategy to overcome limitations and to confer better properties to the textile material. The properties of chitosan and the concept of microencapsulation are presented. Then we present the main techniques of chitosan encapsulation. Furthermore, we detail the textile finishing processes and the textile products. Last, the perspectives are discussed in the context of green chemistry and compliance with an environmentally friendly approach.

In recent years transdermal drug delivery has aroused significant interest as a sustained and non-invasive way of administering active substances. The advancements of nanotechnology allowed the development of novel pharmaceutical formulations overcoming skin barrier. Furthermore, such nano-system can be combined with conventional fabrics to pave the way to a new generation of wearable drug delivery devices: bio-functional garments. First the NP were produced by flash nanoprecipitation technique (FNP), the production process was optimized to produce particles with suitable size for transdermal applications. The nanoparticles were characterized in terms of drug content by UV-visible spectroscopy and in term of antioxidant activity by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy (EPR) coupled with spin trapping technique. The NPs were used to functionalize cotton and viscose-micromodal fabrics and the transdermal release properties were tested in vitro by Franz's Cell experiment. FNP was proven to be an effective technique to produce tunable size particles. Moreover, the nanoencapsulated drug exhibited antioxidant activity. The Franz's Cell test evidenced a controlled release behavior, providing evidence that the bio-functional textile is suitable for applications where sustained release and antioxidant properties are required.