POLYMERS Electrospinning polypropylene with an amino acid as a strategy to bind the antimicrobial peptide Cys-LC-LL-37 Frederico Nogueira 1,3 , Pilar Teixeira 2 , and Isabel C. Gouveia 3, * 1 CICS-UBI – Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal 2 Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IBB), Braga, Portugal 3 FibEnTech R&D Unit Textile and Paper Materials, Fiber Materials and Environmental Technologies, University of Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal Received: 13 July 2017 Accepted: 20 November 2017 Published online: 27 November 2017 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2017 ABSTRACT Hospital isolation gowns are increasingly competitive, with brands and manu- facturers contesting consumer preferences. The textile materials in contact with the skin can acquire secretions and multiresistant microorganisms, causing discomfort and health risks, respectively. A new nanofibrous substrate— polypropylene grafted with L-Cys—was developed with an increased crys- tallinity, providing its surface with –SH hooks necessary to efficiently cross-link the antimicrobial peptide Cys-LC-LL-37 in order to protect against nosocomial pathogens and their spread to community. Furthermore, this application does not require environmental control of humidity, and it is not susceptible to enzyme and microorganism degradation. Introduction Textiles are considered an attractive substrate for bacteria because of their rich nutrient content, which can function as a reservoir for bacterial infections, especially under optimal conditions of humidity and temperature. In a hospital setting, patients and clin- ical staff can acquire these bacteria through direct contact with contaminated textiles or their sur- roundings [1]. When infected in this way, they can transmit the infectious agent with ease to co-workers and patients, which is potentially dangerous if the latter are immunocompromised [2]. Synthetic fibers account for about 62.1% of the world textile market [3]. In 2015, the production of synthetic fibers roundabout 60.7 million tonnes compared to 6.1 million tonnes of cellulosic fibers. Between 2000 and 2015, the synthetic fibers produc- tion has increased [4, 5] due in large part to the enhancement of properties such as wetting and hydrophilicity [6, 7]. From 1960s, polypropylene began to conquer the markets and to become a seri- ous competitor of natural and cellulosic fibers, due to its wrinkle-resistant properties, good mechanical strength and fast drying [8]. Polypropylene is com- posed by saturated linear fibers of aliphatic Address correspondence to E-mail: igouveia@ubi.pt https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1841-8 J Mater Sci (2018) 53:4655–4664 Polymers Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.