Sustainable Packaging Material Based on PCL Nanofibers and Lavandula luisieri Essential Oil, to Preserve Museological Textiles

The connection with textiles is one of the oldest traditions in humanity, and in the historical scenario, textiles and clothing deal with material culture. Therefore, preservation is of the utmost importance to keep this important heritage. Packaging and protection of museological textiles is imperative due to the risks that these articles suffer, mainly concerning the attack of microorganisms that promote the acceleration of their degradation, and it is still necessary to create a proper packing material. In the present work we describe a bibliographic review about the museological scenario, focused on the packaging for preservation of textile articles, as well as the techniques usually used in preventive material conservation. Future perpsctives for the improvement in the conservation of museological textiles are also given. This research aims to produce a sustainable material based on polycaprolactone (PCL), with and without antimicrobial function by incorporating Lavandula luisieri essential oil (EO), in the form of a non-woven substrate for museological packaging. A comparison was made with the most frequently used materials, such as raw cotton and a non-woven polyester. The results demonstrated that both PCL and PCL + EO obtained a good characterization for museological application with good breaking strength and excellent whiteness index. In addition, PCL + EO showed a high bacterial reduction when compared with other protective materials frequently used in museums. Therefore, these findings emphasize the potential use of this material as an innovative protective antibacterial museological packaging solution, able to safeguard and preserve textile museum and clothing collections for longer and for future generations.