Antimicrobial Technology Makes Textiles Permanently Germ-Free

A invention can inexpensively render medical linens and clothing, face masks, paper towels --and even diapers, intimate apparel, and athletic wear--permanently germ-free.

Researcher at the University of Georgia (UGA; Athens, USA), developed the antimicrobial treatment, which effectively kills a wide spectrum of bacteria, yeasts, and molds that can cause disease, break down fabrics, create stains, and produce odors. The antimicrobial technology works on both natural and synthetic materials--such as polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene, cotton, and alkyl-coated oxide surfaces--and can be applied during the manufacturing process or at home. The treatment remains fully active after multiple hot water laundry cycles, not leaching out from the textiles even under harsh conditions. Repeated applications are unnecessary to maintain effectiveness.

The technology is based on copolymers of hydrophobic N-alkyl and benzophenone containing polyethylenimines, attached by photochemical grafting of the suspended benzophenones to the surfaces of the fabrics. In trials, the antimicrobial polymers were applied using solution casting or spray coating and then covalently cross-linked, rendering permanent, nonleaching antimicrobial surfaces. Incubating the modified materials with either Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli demonstrated that the modified surfaces had substantial antimicrobial capacity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with over 98% microbial death. The study describing the new process was published on June 21, 2011, in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Applied Materials & Interfaces.

“The spread of pathogens on textiles and plastics is a growing concern, especially in healthcare facilities and hotels, which are ideal environments for the proliferation and spread of very harmful microorganisms, but also in the home,” said lead author assistant professor Jason Locklin, PhD, of the UGA Faculty of Engineering.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA), approximately one of every 20 hospitalized patients will contract a healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Lab coats, scrub suits, uniforms, gowns, gloves, and bed linens are some of the fabrics in the healthcare setting known to harbor the microbes that cause patient infections.

Related Links:
University of Georgia
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention