Fabric Coating That Inhibits Pathogen Growth

Fabric Coating That Inhibits Pathogen Growth In hospitals, patients, visitors and healthcare personnel touch all types of surfaces countless times daily. Door handles, railings and elevator buttons can serve as carriers for hospital microbes and viruses and other pathogens. Smooth surfaces are relatively easy to clean after contamination. However, this is not so straightforward with porous structures like textiles. Empa researchers solved this problem together with experts from BASF, Spiez Laboratory and Berlin University of Technology: A newly developed coating now makes it possible to treat fabrics so that they kill bacterial and viral pathogens or inhibit their growth. Coated textiles could be used in hospitals in the future, for example as antimicrobial curtains between patient beds. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Peter Wick from the Particle-Biology Interactions laboratory at Empa in St. Gallen says, "We were looking for a process that reliably prevents microbes from contaminating textile products that come into contact with many people during use." In this way, infection chains can be interrupted where, for example, multidrug-resistant bacteria or viral pathogens settle on hospital curtains and can subsequently be spread by people. The researchers ultimately developed a coating process in which a disinfectant containing benzalkonium chloride was applied evenly to hospital curtains. After optimizing parameters such as concentration, exposure time, processing pressure and drying, the coating adhered stably to the textile surface. But did the coated textile products also demonstrate antimicrobial effects? This was to be shown by analyzing the antimicrobial activity of the first fabric samples. "The results of laboratory tests were very encouraging," says Wick. When bacterial cultures of certain problematic microbes were incubated with fabric samples, the coated textiles inhibited the growth of, for example, staphylococcus and pseudomonas bacteria. The Empa researcher states, "Hospital microbes were significantly reduced and even killed after just 10 minutes of exposure." Moreover, the coating was also active against viral pathogens: more than 99% of viruses were eliminated by the coated fabric samples. The fact that the coatings remained effective even after several months of storage also allows for stockpile production. According to Wick, with the new process, in the future other textile products, filters or cleaning supplies could also be treated quickly and safely with antimicrobials, for example in the event of an outbreak. Academic Reference: Philipp Meier et al, Quaternary ammonium-based coating of textiles is effective against bacteria and viruses with a low risk to human health, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47707-3 Source