University invents new anti-microbial technology
A researcher at the University of Georgia, US, has invented a technology which he claims can clean athletic wear, intimate apparel and paper towels of germs.
The anti-microbial technology works on natural and synthetic materials, according to its inventor, Jason Locklin. It can be applied during the manufacturing process or at home, and does not come out in the wash.
“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 Mr Locklin, who is an assistant professor of chemistry in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and on the Faculty of Engineering.
The anti-microbial treatment is available for licensing from the University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF). It effectively kills a wide spectrum of bacteria, yeasts and moulds that can cause disease, break down fabrics, create stains and produce odours.
“Similar technologies are limited by cost of materials, use of noxious chemicals in the application or loss of effectiveness after a few washings,” said Gennaro Gama, UGARF senior technology manager. “Locklin’s technology uses ingeniously simple, inexpensive and scalable chemistry.
“The advantage of UGARF’s technology over competing methods is that the permanent antimicrobial can be applied to a product at any point of the manufacture-sale-use continuum. In contrast, competing technologies require blending of the antimicrobial in the manufacturing process. In addition, if for some reason the antimicrobial layer is removed from an article-through abrasion, for example-it can be reapplied by simple spraying.”
Mr Locklin said the antimicrobial was tested against many of the pathogens common in healthcare settings, including staph, strep, E. coli, pseudomonas and acetinobacter. After a single application, no bacterial growth was observed on the textile samples added to the culture-even after 24 hours at 37 degrees Celsius. In testing, the treatment remained fully active after multiple hot water laundry cycles.
A paper on the new technology was published by Mr Locklin and colleagues on June 21 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society.
