Abstract:

Objective Traditional woven cotton dressings have a tight structure， resulting in low softness， easily causing discomfort by scraping the wound. Therefore， the softness modification of cotton dressings has become a common need in both the healthcare and textile fields. To address the shortcomings of low softness and weak skin conformity in woven cotton dressings widely used for wound care， a hydroentanglement non-woven modification process was applied to improve their softness.

Method Hydroentanglement non-woven modification is a process that utilizes high-pressure waterjets to physically impact the fabric， forcing fibers or yarns to rearrange and thereby altering its physical structure and properties. This study employed the hydroentanglement non-woven modification process to achieve softness modification of woven cotton dressings. Experiments were conducted to analyze the effects of hydroentanglement energy on the morphological characteristics and modal pore size of the woven cotton dressings. Furthermore， the mechanical properties， softness， air permeability， moisture vapor transmission， and liquid wetting properties of the samples were tested and characterized. The performance stability under repeated disinfection was tested.

Results The results demonstrated that the hydroentanglement modification disrupted the tightly arranged yarn structure of the woven cotton dressing， leading to varying degrees of changes in the sample's morphological structure， softness， mechanical properties， air and moisture permeability， as well as liquid wetting performance. As the water jet energy increased to 13 364 kJ/m²， the yarns developed a loose and hairy structure. The softness score of the samples increased to 67.4， representing a 60.4% improvement. Concurrently， the softness force declined to 0.474 N， corresponding to a 51.7% reduction， indicating enhanced softness properties. In terms of mechanical strength， the cross machine direction maximum breaking strength fell to 203.7 N， a decrease of 50.5%. Similarly， the machine direction maximum breaking strength dropped to 172.4 N， down by 60.6%. The maximum bursting strength was reduced to 279.3 N， reflecting a 27.0% decline. These results suggest a general reduction in mechanical properties. With increasing water jet energy， the modal pore size decreased to 12 μm. Consequently， the air permeability declined to 186 mm/s， a 36.5% reduction. The water vapor transmission rate also decreased， reaching 4 537 g/（m²·24 h）， which is 26.3% lower. Overall， these trends indicate diminished air and moisture permeability. As the hydroentanglement energy increased， the liquid diffusion performance of the samples significantly improved and exhibited asymmetry. Both the speed and distance of liquid diffusion were superior in the longitudinal direction compared to the transverse direction， and the liquid wicking performance was enhanced， with the maximum longitudinal wicking height reaching 5.75 cm. In a simulated absorption test for wound exudate， the sample demonstrated significantly enhanced liquid absorption performance compared to the woven cotton dressing， with no residual liquid observed on the skin surface. After 20 disinfection cycles with a 75% ethanol solution， the sample retained its performance characteristics.

Conclusion This study modified woven cotton dressings using high-pressure waterjet to improve softness. We analyzed how waterjet energy influenced their structure， mechanics， and performance. Results showed that hydroentangling reduced pore size， which can help block wound fluid， though adding antibacterial agents remains necessary for full microbial barrier. The process also lowered mechanical strength， but values still safely exceeded medical requirements. This reduction traded for greatly improved softness and

Key words: nonwoven, cotton woven fabric, waterjets modification, softness property, dressing, mechanical modification, medical textile