Chitosan-enriched milk thistle extract-loaded liposomes anchored on nonwoven cotton fabric with antioxidant, anti-aging and UV protective effects

This work focused on grafting milk thistle extract (MTE)-loaded liposomes with antioxidant and UV protection properties onto nonwoven cotton fabric by layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly. Liposome vesicles were manufactured using the double solvent displacement (DSD) method and characterized based on particle size, polydispersity, and zeta potential measurements. In the coating process, chitosan served as a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer to provide the positive charge required for electrostatic LbL self-assembly. The findings showed that the liposomal population was similar to 223 nm in average particle size, with a low polydispersity index of 0.398, indicating high particle homogeneity. Additionally, the zeta potentials of liposomes and chitosan were determined to be -28 and + 68.23, respectively. SEM-EDX findings revealed that the elements of the liposomes on the fabric changed with the increase of the assembled layers, while ATR-FTIR provided evidence that the liposomes were successfully loaded on the nonwoven cotton fabric. The findings showed significant levels of tyrosinase inhibitory activity and antioxidant ability in fabrics coated with chitosan-enriched MTE phenolics. Moreover, when compared with untreated and pretreated fabrics, the fabric with coated MTE exhibited very good sun protection ability with a UPF value of 30.55.