Preparation of functionalized cotton fabrics by means of melatonin loaded β-cyclodextrin nanosponges

• Hyperbranched β-cyclodextrin network from β-cyclodextrin and carbonyldiimidazole.
• The synthesized nanosponges were loaded with melatonin in water/ethanol suspension.
• The analysis confirmed that melatonin interacts at molecular level.
• The complexed nanosponges were applied onto cotton fabrics.
• The melatonin release from fabrics evidenced a zero-order release rate.

Biofunctional textiles are a new category of advanced materials which combine conventional textiles with advanced drug delivery systems to obtain fabrics able to release active principles through skin. The work presents the synthesis of hyper cross-linked β-cyclodextrins nanosponges with the carbonyl group acting as bridge between cyclodextrin molecules. The result of the synthesis is a 3-D porous structure, where melatonin molecules have been complexed. The complex has been characterized by elemental analysis, DSC, SEM, XRD and FT-IR spectroscopy and the results confirm that melatonin interacts with the synthesized nanosponge at molecular level. Melatonin loaded nanosponges have been dispersed on cotton fibres, which have proved to be a suitable substrate for durable nanosponge adsorption. The in vitro release tests from the funtionalized fabrics have shown a zero order kinetics, which is typical of a reservoir diffusion controlled system.