Bioactive Polymer Coatings Incorporating Curcumin and Aloe vera for Skincare Textiles

Bioactive polymer coatings containing curcumin and Aloe vera were developed in a sodium alginate matrix and applied to woven cotton fabrics for skincare applications. Seven dispersions with different concentrations of curcumin, Aloe vera, and sodium alginate were applied by knife coating to cotton substrates pretreated with CaCl2 to promote in situ ionic crosslinking. The coated fabrics were evaluated for coating deposition, morphology, elemental composition, color, curcumin release, antibacterial activity, and in vitro cellular response. Coating add-on ranged from 9.44 to 17.73%, depending on the formulation composition, while SEM observations confirmed the presence of film-like polymer deposits on the fiber surfaces. EDX analysis detected elements associated with the alginate coating and CaCl2 pretreatment. Color intensity was strongly correlated with the yellow component b* (r = 0.976, p < 0.001), but was not significantly correlated with the add-on (r = 0.547, p = 0.204), which indicates that color intensity was not determined by the deposited mass. The strongest antibacterial activity was observed for the formulation containing 1.5% (w/v) sodium alginate, 0.5% (v/v) glycerol, 0.5% (v/v) Tween 20, 0.1% (w/v) curcumin and 1% (v/v) Aloe vera, with inhibition zones of 9.50 ± 0.87 mm against E. coli and 8.83 ± 0.58 mm against S. aureus. Although some samples produced no measurable inhibition zones, no bacterial growth was observed in the contact area beneath the specimens, indicating a satisfactory antibacterial effect according to SR EN ISO 20645:2004. The release of curcumin was initially faster and subsequently reached a plateau, and the kinetic parameters were consistent with a release controlled primarily by diffusion. Extracts from all coated fabrics were well tolerated by HaCaT keratinocytes, with no relevant effects on the investigated cellular parameters. These results support the potential of alginate coatings containing curcumin and Aloe vera for the development of bioactive cotton textiles intended for direct skin contact.