Nanowerk August 20, 2024
Healthcare textiles serve as key reservoirs for pathogen proliferation. Researchers in Canada developed a new class of Smart Fabrics (SF) with integrated “Repel, Kill, and Detect” functionalities, which they achieved through a blend of hierarchically structured microparticles, modified nanoparticles, and an acidity-responsive sensor. It showed good resilience against aerosol and droplet-based pathogen transmission, showed a reduction exceeding 99.90% compared to uncoated fabrics across various drug-resistant bacteria. Experiments involving bodily fluids from healthy and infected individuals revealed a significant reduction of 99.88% and 99.79% in clinical urine and feces samples compared to uncoated fabrics. According to the researchers SF’s colorimetric detection capability coupled with machine learning ensures reliable pathogen identification, facilitating accurate differentiation between healthy and infected, contaminated samples. According to the researchers SF could be helpful in the prevention, and early contamination detection… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Details are in the caption following the image Bactericidal Activity of the Coatings… Credit: Advanced Functional Materials, 30 July 2024