Design Criteria

  • Lint – free to minimize airborne contamination
  • Two drape types: reusable and disposable
    • Reusable – more cost efficient and environmentally  friendly
    • Disposable – more reliable and reproducible bacterial impermeability
  • Biocidal additives in plastic to ensure resistance (includes natural substances such as oregano or cedar oil)
  • Must be transparent (based on glove boxes)
  • Should be cost efficient (reusable drapes can have the edge over disposable ones in low-income areas)
  • Fluid and flame resistant properties
  • Biocidal qualities will be tested through a microbe test according to the ASTM E 2180-18 standard
  • Flame resistance will be tested through a UL94 horizontal burn test 
  • Potential alternative to cedar oil based additive could be silver based biocidal additives
  • Alternative approach to cause flame resistance could be weaving flame retardant material into the polyester

Seidi, F., et al. “Flame Retardant Polypropylenes: A Review.

“JP2017153973A – Surgical System Sterile Drape.”

Antosik, A. A.-O., et al. “Development and Characterization of Bioactive Polypropylene Films for Food Packaging Applications.

Chylińska, M., et al. (2020). “Influence of the N-halamine additives on the mechanical properties and fire-retardancy of biocidal plastics based on poly(vinyl chloride).”